UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


THE  GIFT  OF 

MAY  TREAT  MORRISON 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

ALEXANDER  F  MORRISON 


A  Strange 


A  STRANGE  FLAW 


BY 

HENRY  5. 

Author  of  Foibles  of  the  Bench,  Trials  of  a  Stamp  Speaker,  etc. 


JK 


LEGAL  LITERATURE  COMPANY 
CHICAGO 

NINETEEN  SIX 


COPYRIGHT,  1906 

BY 
HENRY   S.  WILCOX 

All  Rights  Reserved 
Entered  at  Stationers1  Hall 


WI4-S 


To  the  common  people  of  the  World,  who 
have  ever  done  the  hardest  work  and  had  the 
poorest  pay;  who  have  always  suffered  the 
keenest  sorrow  and  received  the  least  sym- 
pathy; who  have  encountered  the  greatest 
dangers  and  been  given  the  smallest  credit; 
to  those  countless  millions  who  through  long 
and  weary  years  have  borne  the  innumer- 
able woes  that  have  emanated  from  unjust 
rulers  and  by  their  patience  and  heroic  sacri- 
5  fices  in  war  and  peace  have  sustained  and 
protected  their  despoilers,  meanwhile  hoping 
that  after  the  night  of  oppression  has  passed 
a  day  of  justice  might  sometime  dawn;  to 
those  victims  of  misfortune  and  injustice  this 
work  is  sympathetically  inscribed. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


429131 


^PREFACE 

The  design  of  the  author  In  writing  this 
book  is  to  uncover  the  machinery  so  frequent- 
ly and  effectively  employed  by  skillful  schem- 
ers for  despoiling  the  masses  of  his  country- 
men, and  to  show  the  methods  by  which  gov- 
ernmental agencies  intended  to  promote  and 
protect  the  people  have  been  perverted  to  their 
injury.  Many  wrongs  of  the  character  here- 
in depiqted  have  come  within  his  personal 
knowledge  and  in  his  professional  career 
many  flaws  as  destitute  of  merit  as  the  one 
here  shown  have  wrought  great  havoc  in  the 
administration  of  justice.  This  book  is  not 
intended  to  caricature  any  person,  nor  to  in- 
flame the  passions  of  one  class  against  an- 
other, nor  to  destroy  confidence  in  our  sys- 
tem of  government.  On  the  contrary  the 
writer  expects  by  exposing  abuses  of  power 
to  stimulate  a  sentiment  that  will  remedy  de- 
fects and  prevent  a  recurrence  of  such  abuses. 
A  government  must  be  sustained  by  the  in- 
telligence of  its  people.  In  publicity  is  pub- 
lic safety.  If  the  tale  herein  told  shall  amuse 
and  win  the  sympathy  of  the  reader,  the 
author  hopes  it  may  also  afford  instruction 
which  will  be  of  a  permanent  value  and  in 
some  way  contribute  to  the  glory  of  his  coun- 
try and  the  benefit  of  mankind. 


CHAPTERS. 


PAGE 
I. — The  Inaugural  Ball     ....      13 

II.— The  Flaw 33 

III. — A  Smiling  Land 45 

IV.— The    Jinks    Family    ....     53 
V. — Railroad     Building     ....     64 

VI.— A     Cloud 80 

VII. — Jealousy 100 

VIII. — A     Railroad    Meeting    .     .     .115 

IX. — The      Interview 134 

X. — The  Proposal 151 

XI. — The  Legislature 168 

XII.— The  Great  Debate     .     .     .     .184 

XIII.— The  Trial 203 

XIV. — Supreme    Court  of  the  United 

States 217 

XV.— The  Sentence  of  Death    .     .     .235 
XVI.— The   End 248 


Strange  Flaw. 


CHAPTER  I 

INAUGURATION  BALL 

"Hilarity  kicks  high  to-night.  The  pres- 
ident in  honor  of  his  inauguration  has  turned 
jumping-jack.  Well,  one-half  the  world  are 
fools;  yes,  and  the  other  half  are  monkeys 
who  imitate  them." 

These  words  were  uttered  by  John  Dim- 
can,  one  of  the  nation's  money  kings,  as  he 
was  entering  a  room  adjoining  the  hall  where 
a  ball  was  being  held  in  honor  of  the  inaugu- 
ration of  the  new  president  of  the  United 
States.  In  this  room  several  tables  had  been 
spread  and  they  were  well  supplied  with  the 
.luxuries  of  the  land  and  immaculately  dressed 
attendants  were  in  waiting.  Here  the  new 
president  contemplated  enjoying  a  private 
supper  with  a  few  of  his  choice  friends,  and 
he  supposed  that  such  arrangements  were 
made  that  the  festivities  could  occur  without 

ii 


A  Strange  Flaw 


interrupti€fn.  -Duncan  'had  not  come  to  par- 
take/.ptf:  *hi§*:  strike.  \  JHe  came  to  urge  the 
appointment 'of  a  "friend  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  The  great  banking  interests  of 
Wall  Street  had  sent  him  as  their  representa- 
tive because  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
new  president  and  had  rendered  much  as- 
sistance in  procuring  his  election.  When 
Duncan  entered,  one  of  the  servants  said  to 
him: 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  but  this  room  is 
reserved  for  the  president  and  his  special 
guests." 

"Tell  the  president,"  said  Duncan,  "I  wish 
to  see  him  right  away.  Go!" 

"Your  card,  please,"  said  the  servant. 

"Card?"  echoed  Duncan.  "Tell  him  I 
am  John  Duncan  and  I  wish  to  see  him  here." 

The  servant  disappeared  and  Duncan  said 
to  himself:  "This  is  his  night  of  triumph,  and 
he  certainly  will  promise  anything  and  I  must 
have  the  appointment."  In  a  few  minutes 
the  servant  returned  and  said : 

"The  president  expresses  high  regard  for 
Mr.  Duncan,  sir." 

"But  I  want  him.  Bring  him  here,"  said 
Duncan  irritably. 

12 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  the  servant,  and  he  disap* 
peared  again  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  pres- 
ident entered  accompanied  by  his  wife,  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  a  general  of  the  United  States 
army,  with  their  wives  and  others,  and  as 
soon  as  he  saw  John  Duncan  he  rushed  up  to 
him,  grasped  him  by  the  hand  very  cordially, 
and  exclaimed: 

"Why,  hello,  Brother  Duncan!  I  have 
searched  for  you  the  whole  evening.  How 
fine  you  look!  You  know  my  wife,  and  the 
judge  here,  and  the  general.  This,  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  is  John  Duncan,  the  great 
capitalist." 

"It  pleases  us  to  make  your  acquaintance, 
sir,"  said  the  judge. 

"Duncan,  did  you  say?  Ha-ha-ha.  Heard 
of  you,  Mr.  John  Duncan,"  said  the  general, 
who  was  evidently  in  a  very  merry  mood. 

Duncan  was  not  disposed  to  become  fa- 
miliar, and  he  called  the  president  to  one 
side  and  told  him  what  he  wanted,  and  while 
they  were  talking  the  general  exclaimed : 

"I  am  dry,  ha-ha,  damned  dry,  ha-ha;  I 
want  some  liquor,  ha-ha." 

"What  kind?"  asked  one  of  the  servants. 

13 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"Any  kind,"  said  the  general;  "every  kind, 
ha-ha,  all  kinds,  ha-ha;  enough  to  swim  in, 
enough  to  drown  in,  ha-ha." 

"Duncan,  won't  you  sit  down  and  eat  with 
us?"  said  the  president. 

"I  am  not  hungry,"  said  Duncan. 

"Then  drink  with  us,"  said  the  president. 

"I  do  not  drink,"  said  Duncan. 

"Then  have  a  cigar." 

"I  don't  smoke." 

"Come  sit  down  and  visit  with  the  ladies." 

"I  don't  care  for  the  women." 

"Brother  Duncan,  you  are  difficult  to 
please,"  said  the  president.  "What  can  I  do 
for  you?" 

"I  have  told  you,"  said  Duncan. 

"Very  well,"  said  the  president,  "he  shall 
have  it." 

"Then  I  am  pleased;  good  night,"  said 
Duncan.  Bowing  slightly,  he  left  the  room. 

"Brother  Duncan  is  a  business  man  who 
has  no  time  for  pleasure.  Such  men  as  he 
have  made  this  nation  great,"  said  the  presi- 
dent. 

"I  should  so  judge  if  the  question  came 
before  my  court,"  replied  the  judge. 

14 


A  Strange   Flaw 

"Let's  drink  his  health,  ka-ha-ha !"  was  the 
proposition  of  the  general. 

"Mr.  President,  this  is  a  most  auspicious 
night,  following  a  day  of  glory,"  said  the 
judge.  "Never  since  the  mighty  Washington 
was  first  sworn  in  has  there  been  such  grand- 
eur." 

"The  pageant  passing  down  the  avenue 
shone  like  the  bright  appareled  hosts  of 
Heaven  when  Satan  was  overthrown,"  said 
the  president.  "Their  gilded  vestments 
blazed  in  dazzling  splendor.  Ten  thousand 
bayonets  glittered  in  the  sun.  A  mighty 
equipage  of  prancing  steeds,  richly  capari- 
soned and  superbly  mounted,  bore  all  the 
pride  and  pomp  of  military  power.  Princes 
and  potentates  from  every  land  sent  their 
representatives  to  grace  this  great  proces- 
sion." 

"Yes,"  replied  the  judge,  "and  you  were 
the  head  and  front  of  all  this  pageant,  drawn 
by  the  finest  horses  in  the  land." 

"Since  early  dawn,"  continued  the  presi- 
dent, "vast  crowds  have  lined  the  avenue, 
jostling  and  fighting  for  a  chance  to  see,  and 
when  my  carriage  passed  the  multitude  sent 

15 


A  Strange  Flaw 

up  so  great  a  shout  it  seemed  as  if  the  hosts 
of  all  the  earth  had  joined  in  the  acclaim." 

"And  not  a  single  accident  occurred  to  mar 
the  pleasure  of  the  grand  parade,"  suggested 
the  president's  wife. 

The  judge's  wife  then  remarked  that  it 
was  stated  in  the  paper  that  a  beggar  by  the 
name  of  Peter  Sorrow  had  been  run  down 
and  killed. 

The  president's  wife  said  she  knew  Peter 
Sorrow  when  she  was  a  girl,  and  the  news 
distressed  her,  for  he  was  an  old  soldier  who 
had  marched  with  Sherman  to  the  sea  and 
lost  both  of  his  arms  in  battle.  The  presi- 
dent asked  if  he  had  not  been  pensioned.  He 
was  told  that  the  papers  stated  that  the  old 
soldier  had  tried  many  years  in  vain  to  get  a 
pension,  and  could  not  satisfy  the  rules  by 
proving  just  when,  and  where,  and  how  he 
lost  his  arms. 

"Such  claims  should  not  be  difficult,"  de- 
clared the  president's  wife.  "The  nation  in 
whose  behalf  he  gave  his  arms  should  quickly 
stretch  its  arms  to  shelter  him." 

"He  needs  no  pension  now,"  said  the 
judge.  .  "He  is  much  better  off."  This,  of 
course,  was  based  upon  the  idea  that  his  en- 

16 


A   Strange   Flaw 

vironment  would  not  have  improved  had  he 
lived. 

"By  every  such  procession  someone  gets 
hurt,"  said  the  president. 

"I  think,"  said  the  judge,  "that  the  assem- 
blage at  the  ball  to-night  exceeds  in  splendor 
the  scene  to-day." 

"Yes,"  said  the  president,  "every  clime  has 
sent  an  embassy  arrayed  in  gorgeous  hues  and 
glittering  gems,  but  none  outshines  the  gem- 
bespangled  darlings  of  our  land.  As  we  led  on 
the  march  and  I  looked  about  the  spacious  hall 
so  gay  with  flowers  and  banners  everywhere 
and  saw  the  brilliant,  swaying,  happy  throng, 
it  seemed  as  if  my  fairest  dreams  of  heaven 
were  here  in  full  display.  The  clear,  mild 
light  shed  by  a  myriad  lamps  of  varied  tints 
upon  the  merry  host  of  proud,  white-fronted 
men  and  jewel-laden  women  disclosed  a  fairy 
land,  a  most  enchanted  realm." 

"This  scene  transports  me  to  bliss  unknown 
before,"  said  the  president's  wife. 

"I  would  be  happy  did  not  the  cares  of  my 
new  office  so  heavily  weigh  me  down,"  re- 
marked the  president. 

"That  such  a  night  should  follow  such  a 


A  Strange   Flaw 

day  augurs  a  happy  term  for  you,"  ejaculated 
the  judge. 

"These  inauguration  parties  are  very  com- 
mon affairs,"  remarked  the  general's  wife 
languidly  as  she  adjusted  a  lorgnette  to  her 
eyes.  "They  are  attended  by  such  common 
people.*' 

"To  whom  do  you  refer?"  inquired  the 
president. 

"Why,  there's  Harold  Gray  in  the  ball- 
room with  his  family,"  said  she.  "He  is  noth- 
ing but  a  ship-builder.  He  never  held  an 
office  in  his  life.  I  can  not  endure  to  mingle 
with  such  common  people." 

"Did  you  not  enjoy  the  fine  parade  to- 
day?" asked  the  president. 

"The  military  part  was  quite  magnificent," 
said  she.  "The  general  looked  like  the  ver- 
itable Mars  in  shining  armor,  leading  a  bril- 
liant host." 

"Let's  drink,  let  everybody  drink,"  said 
the  general.  "Ha,  ha,  ha  1" 

"Mr.  President,"  said  the  judge,  "let  me 
congratulate  you  on  your  fine  address  to-day. 
Your  suggestion  for  the  appropriation  of  a 
million  dollars  to  build  a  monument  for  Mr. 
Smith  was  very  timely." 

18 


A   Strange   Flaw 

"What  Smith  was  that?"  asked  the  judge's 
wife. 

"The  Honorable  John  Smith,"  said  the 
judge.  "He  was,  indeed,  a  great  man." 

"Was  he  a  general?"  asked  the  lady. 

"Oh,  no,"  answered  the  judge. 

"A  mere  civilian?"  questioned  she,  some- 
v/hat  contemptuously. 

"Yes,"  interposed  the  president,  "but  he 
had  held  office  all  his  life.  A  million  dollars 
to  build  a  monument  to  such  a  man  is  hardly 
ample.  That  sum  will  do  to  start  with  and 
later  on  sums  could  be  added  suited  to  our 
great  prosperity.  The  country's  gorged  with 
wealth,  our  treasury  overflowing,  our  grana- 
ries full,  all  Europe  is  our  debtor  on  the  bal- 
ance sheet.  Now  is  the  time  to  show  the  na- 
tion's love  for  Smith." 

"The  world  applauds  your  views,"  said 
the  judge.  "Congress  will  quickly  act  and 
soon  Smith's  monument  will  tower  with 
Washington's." 

"Let's  drink  his  health!  Ha!  Ha! 
Ha !"  said  the  general.  "Hurrah  for  Smith  I 
May  he  live  long  and  prosper!  Ha!  Ha! 
Ha!" 

19 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"Mr.  Smith  is  dead,"  remarked  the  presi- 
dent. 

"Let's  drink  to  the  health  of  Mrs.  Smith, 
then,"  said  the  general. 

"There  is  no  Mrs.  Smith,"  said  the  presi- 
dent. 

"Well,  then,  let's  drink  to  the  health  of 
the  president!  Ha!  Ha!  Ha!"  said  the 
general.  "Three  cheers  for  President  Boodle, 
the  Father  of  his  Country,  and  the  son  of 
Yankee  Doodle!  Hip!  Hip!  Hurrah!" 

This  toast  was  drunk  heartily,  and  then 
the  president,  standing  up,  raised  his  glass 
saying:  "Here's  to  the  Great  American  Na- 
tion, the  richest  and  most  prosperous  com- 
monwealth under  the  sun,  the  home  for  the 
free  and  the  asylum  for  the  oppressed!" 

The  entire  company  had  raised  their 
glasses  to  respond  to  this  suggestion,  when, 
to  the  surprise  of  all,  there  rushed  in  from 
the  street  a  ragged  girl  of  about  ten  years 
of  age,  looking  wan  and  pale,  exclaiming  in 
piteous  tones:  "Please  give  me  something 
to  eat!  I'm  starving!" 

The  room  in  which  this  brilliant  company 
were  intending  to  dine  was  near  the  street 
and  anyone  passing  by  could  catch  a  glimpse 

20 


A  Strange   Flaw 

of  the  beauty  and  good  cheer  within.  It  was 
a  cold,  chilly  night  for  Washington  at  this 
season  of  the  year,  and  this  child,  pinched 
with  cold  and  hunger,  in  her  frenzy,  failed 
to  recognize  the  privacy  of  the  apartment 
and  the  select  character  of  the  company  with- 
in, and  it  being  after  midnight  the  guards  at 
the  entrance  were  careless  and  not  expecting 
such  an  event,  so  she  had  succeeded  in  enter- 
ing and  was  thus  enabled  to  disturb  the  presi- 
dent's festivities.  Her  name  was  Mercy 
Bragg.  She  was  the  only  child  of  Hender- 
son Bragg,  a  person  who,  at  one  time,  was 
well-to-do.  He  had  graduated  with  high  hon- 
ors from  Yale.  His  father  subsequently  died 
and  left  him  a  considerable  estate,  part  of 
which  had  been  dissipated  by  unwise  invest- 
ments, and  a  lawyer  discovered  a  flaw  in  the 
will  and  beat  him  out  of  the  remainder. 
When  thrown  upon  his  own  resources  he 
found  he  had  learned  but  little  at  college  that 
had  qualified  him  to  earn  money.  His  educa- 
tion made  him  too  proud  to  accept  a  position 
as  a  common  laborer,  and  he  had  not  energy 
enough  to  work  his  way  up  to  an  artisan  or 
professional.  He  finally  steered  his  bark  into 
the  uncertain  sea  of  politics  and  anchored 

21 


A  Strange  Flaw 

it  to  one  of  its  shifting  shoals.  For  a  time 
he  held  a  minor  position  in  the  Land  Depart- 
ment, but  a  change  of  administration  caused 
him  to  lose  this,  and  thus,  sailless  and  rudder- 
less, he  was  cast  adrift  like  a  weather-beaten 
and  battered  hulk,  the  sport  of  misfortune 
and  unfavorable  gales.  Failing  to  get  other 
employment  he  borrowed  until  his  inability 
to  pay  became  generally  known  and  his  credit 
becoming  exhausted  necessity  forced  him  to 
beg.  In  this  practice  it  became  necessary  for 
him  to  become  migratory  and  so  he  became  a 
beggar,  living  where,  how,  and  on  what  he 
could.  His  wife  had  died  several  years  be- 
fore and  this  daughter  was  the  only  relative 
that  he  had  in  the  great  city,  and  he  was 
doing  his  utmost  to  provide  her  with  some- 
thing to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  hunger  and 
keep  himself  from  starving  to  death. 

Immense  crowds  were  drawn  to  Washing- 
ton to  witness  the  inauguration,  and  opportu- 
nities for  obtaining  sustenance  by  begging 
seemed  better  than  usual,  but  there  had  also 
come  a  great  number  of  tramps  and  beggars 
to  take  advantage  of  these  good  prospects, 
and  Bragg  had  been  less  successful  than  usual. 

He  saw  that  night  that  his  child  was  get- 

22 


A   Strange   Flaw 

ting  desperate  and  he  was  much  worried,  but 
was  greatly  surprised  when  he  saw  her  dodge 
into  the  entrance  of  the  building  where  he 
knew  these  festivities  were  occurring.  Her 
appearance  before  such  a  company  and  at 
such  an  inopportune  moment,  when  the  com- 
pany were  drinking  to  the  great  prosperity  of 
the  country,  was  most  annoying.  Somebody 
certainly  was  to  blame  and  the  president  was 
quick  to  locate  it,  for  he  asked  with  becoming 
dignity  if  the  guards  of  the  room  were  drunk 
or  asleep,  and  ordered  the  cause  of  the  vexa- 
tion to  be  instantly  removed.  Before  his 
order  could  be  executed,  however,  the  child's 
father  appeared.  He  was  very  much  excited 
and  called  her  to  come  out  of  the  room.  She 
did  not  obey,  but  gasping  that  she  must  have 
something  to  eat,  staggered  and  fell  to  the 
floor.  Seeing  his  child  thus  fainting  from 
hunger  he  became  frenzied  and  declaring  that 
she  should  not  starve  to  death  in  sight  of 
plenty,  attempted  to  snatch  a  portion  of  the 
food  from  one  of  the  tables.  Just  then  a 
large  negro  attendant  struck  him  on  the  head. 
The  blow  was  sufficient  to  cause  him  to  fall 
unconscious  on  the  floor.  The  girl,  thinking 
her  father  was  killed,  uttered  a  few  convul- 

23 


A  Strange  Flaw 

sive  gasps  and  swooned.  From  this  she  never 
recovered  consciousness,  and  it  was  soon  evi- 
dent that  she  was  dead.  The  judge  declared 
her  conduct  highly  improper,  insisting  that 
it  was  horrible  that  such  a  creature  should  die 
there. 

This  unfortunate  incident  immediately 
stampeded  the  ladies  of  the  party  and  the 
gentlemen  soon  followed  them  out  of  the  ball- 
room. A  policeman  was  called  to  arrest  and 
remove  the  offenders  and  he,  finding  that  one 
of  them  was  a  corpse  and  the  other  a  heart- 
broken father,  allowed  them  to  remain  while 
the  coroner's  attendance  was  being  procured. 
Thus  left  alone  with  his  dead,  save  for  the 
presence  of  the  negro  attendants  who  were 
guarding  the  food  on  the  tables,  Bragg  be- 
came frantic,  and  thus  he  railed:  "Oh,  cruel 
proverty,  to  kill  my  only  child !  Here  in  this 
land  where  profligates  have  piled  their  domes 
jand  columns  to  the  arching  skies,  where 
fraud  and  crime  in  monuments  of  spotless 
stone  have  made  themselves  immortal,  here 
my  poor  dove  has  begged  and  plead  for  food 
until  she  starved  to  death!"  He  was  inter- 
rupted in  his  bitter  cry  by  John  Duncan.  Mr. 
Duncan,  in  the  haste  of  his  interview,  had 

24 


A  Strange   Flaw 

omitted  some  matters  which  he  wished  to  en- 
force upon  the  president's  attention,  and  had 
returned  for  that  purpose.  Duncan  had  been 
nursed  in  poverty  and  by  hard  labor  and  close 
economy  had  graduated  at  college  in  the  same 
class  with  Bragg.  He  then  had  studied  law 
in  an  office  and  been  admitted  to  the  bar. 
The  hardships  of  early  poverty  had  made 
him  feel  the  value  of  money  and  he  had  con- 
centrated his  whole  power  to  obtain  it.  As 
soon  as  he  had  accumulated  a  few  dollars  he 
launched  into  a  sea  of  speculation,  and  by 
sitting  up  a  little  later  at  night  and  getting 
up  a  little  earlier  in  the  morning  and  studying 
a  little  harder  than  the  rest  of  mankind  he 
had  succeeded  in  acquiring  a  large  amount  of 
property.  He  then  had  gone  into  railroad 
building  upon  the  plan  of  having  others  build 
the  road  and  give  it  to  him.  He  had  lobbied 
subsidies  through  Congress,  gone  into  part- 
nership with  the  Government,  and  by  various 
enterprises  and  through  many  channels  had 
become  a  multi-millionaire.  The  pendulum 
of  his  fortune  had  swung  from  poverty  to 
plenty,  while  Bragg's  had  swung  from  plenty 
to  poverty.  When  they  parted,  Bragg  stood 
on  the  mountain  and  Duncan  in  the  valley, 

25 


A   Strange   Flaw 

but  now  they  had  changed  places.  Duncan 
was  startled  at  the  sight  of  such  a  distressing 
spectacle  in  such  a  place.  He  did  not  recog- 
nize his  old  classmate,  and  he  exclaimed: 

"What's  this?  Tramps,  beggars,  inhere?" 

Bragg  replied  in  plaintive  tones : 

"You,  John  Duncan,  don't  you  know  me? 
I  am  Henderson  Bragg.  I  knew  you  at  Yale. 
This  is  Mercy.  All  I  have  to  live  for  is 
dead." 

"Yes,  now  I  do  recognize  you,"  said  Dun- 
can. "What  killed  your  daughter?" 

"Poverty;  damned  poverty!  My  sweet 
child  has  begged  and  plead  for  food  until  she 
starved  to  death,"  answered  Bragg,  pathet- 
ically. 

"That's  hard,"  admitted  Duncan.  Then, 
with  some  disgust:  "Where  were  you  that 
you  didn't  get  her  food?" 

"I  did  my  best,"  protested  Bragg. 

"But  you  were  the  brightest  boy  of  all  our 
class.  I  can  not  understand.  What  have  you 
done  since  then?" 

"I  got  an  office,  then  a  wife,  and  then  came 
this  little  girl.  I  lost  the  office,  then  my  wife, 
and  now  she's  gone,"  answered  Bragg,  in  a 
choked  voice.  And  then,  as  his  eyes  rested 

26 


A   Strange   Flaw 

again  upon  the  body  of  his  child,  he  seemed 
to  forget  Duncan's  presence  and  fell  to  weep- 
ing bitterly.  Duncan,  seeking  to  quiet  him 
by  diverting  his  attention,  asked  him  about 
his  father's  estate,  and  being  informed  that 
it  was  all  exhausted,  asked  regarding  his  own 
health. 

"Alas !"  answered  Bragg.  "My  health  is 
too  good.  Were  I  an  invalid,  a  cripple,  a  mis- 
shapen wretch,  whose  sight  would  wring  com- 
passion's tears,  my  daughter  might  have  lived. 
But  I  look  so  strong  and  fit  for  labor  that 
none  takes  pity  on  me.  When  I  could  get  no 
work  I  became  a  tramp.  I  was  driven  from 
town  to  town.  And  this  poor  girl!  My 
God!  What  could  I  do?" 

"Steal,"  was  Duncan's  stern  answer. 

"But,"  protested  Bragg,  "I  never  could  do 
that.  I'd  rather  die.  My  father  was  an  hon- 
est man.  I  could  not  so  disgrace  his  mem- 
ory." 

"Disgrace,"  echoed  Duncan,  in  disgust. 
"You  ragged  beggar,  did  honor  feed  your 
starving  child?  Don't  be  a  fool.  Steal! 
Steal  not  as  the  vulgar  steal,  in  violation  of 
the  law,  but  steal  as  princes  and  politicians 
steal,  under  the  cloak  of  the  law.  Go  not  at 

2? 


A  Strange  Flaw 

night  as  fools  and  beggars  do,  but  in  full 
blaze  of  day,  and  take  with  you  the  officers 
of  the  law.  Steal  in  the  name  of  Justice." 

"I  do  not  know  what  you  mean,"  said 
Bragg. 

"Learn  something  and  sell  your  silence. 
Discover  a  flaw  in  a  title  and  buy  it,"  con- 
tinued Duncan. 

"Buy  it!  Did  you  say,  buy  it?"  asked 
Bragg.  "Why,  if  arable  land  was  selling 
for  a  cent  a  section  I  could  not  buy  a  rod  of 
swamp." 

"Find  a  flaw  and  see  me,"  said  the  wise 
Duncan. 

Bragg,  feeling  that  perhaps  he  had  found 
a  friend,  began  to  feel  a  faint  spark  of  hope 
in  his  heavy  heart. 

"While  working  in  the  Land  Department 
here,"  he  said,  "I  saw  a  flaw  in  a  land  grant 
to  a  State.  A  word  was  so  badly  written  in 
the  grant  that  none  could  surely  say  whether 
it  was  'including'  or  'excluding,'  because  the 
scribe  had  so  badly  scrawled  the  first  two  let- 
ters." 

"Well,  what  has  the  Land  Department 
done?"  asked  Duncan. 

"Held  the  several  counties  excluded  from 

28 


A   Strange   Flaw 

the  grant  and  issued  homestead  patents  to  the 
settlers  there,"  said  Bragg. 

Duncan  seemed  to  be  in  deep  thought.  "Is 
there  a  railroad  there?"  he  at  length  asked 
Bragg. 

"No,"  answered  Bragg. 

"Then,"  said  Duncan,  "I  have  a  scheme, 
to  get  them  to  build  a  railroad  for  us  and 
get  the  State  to  grant  us  all  these  lands.  The 
thought  of  a  railroad  will  set  them  crazy." 

"I'll  be  no  partner  in  such  a  scheme,"  de- 
clared Bragg  emphatically;  "I'd  rather  be  a 
tramp." 

"And  starve  to  death,"  sneered  Duncan. 

"Like  my  poor  child,"  moaned  Bragg,  pit- 
eously.  Duncan,  who  was  closely  observing 
Bragg,  saw  by  his  manner  that  he  was  be- 
ginning to  weaken,  and  said : 

"Bragg,  you  must  have  money,  or  you  will 
perish.  Money  means  love,  respect,  renown, 
no  matter  how  it's  got.  Though  stained  with 
blood  and  wet  with  widow's  tears,  or  wrung 
from  the  withered  hands  of  want,  'tis  money 
still,  and  he  who  has  it  has  the  world's  ap- 
plause, and  he  who  has  it  not,  the  world's 
contempt." 

"The  world  hates  me  because  I  am  poor," 

29 


A  Strange   Flaw 

said  Bragg  with  feeling.  "It  glues  its  kisses 
to  the  robber's  hand  and  rudely  smites  the 
palm  outstretched  for  alms." 

"That  is  too  true,"  replied  Duncan.  "The 
thief  that  tears  the  lining  from  the  chest  of 
state  and  turns  his  office  to  a  robbers'  roost 
is  not  pursued  with  half  the  zeal  the  beggar 
is,  and  if  perchance  he  may  be  caught  the 
crooked  laws  will  bend  one  way  to  let  the 
thief  escape,  another  way  to  keep  the  beggar 
in."  As  he  spoke,  the  terrible  realization  of 
his  wrongs  came  to  Bragg  and  he  said: 
"Duncan,  your  words  are  true.  I've  borne 
the  cross  of  virtue  long  enough.  This  tramp 
shall  tramp  no  more !" 

"Bragg,  you  now  talk  sense,"  said  Duncan. 
"Hold  to  it  and  I  will  help  you  to  make  mil- 
lions. See  me  at  the  house  to-mor- 
row." And  without  further  ceremony  or 
thought  regarding  the  disposal  of  the  corpse, 
Duncan  hurried  from  the  scene  into  the  ball- 
room. 

Bragg  again  gazed  on  the  dead  body  of 
his  child  as  he  said  to  himself: 

"If  all  the  millions  could  restore  this  child, 
with  what  a  spirit  would  I  strive.  But  she, 
alas,  is  gone.  No  wealth,  however  great,  can 

30 


A  Strange   Flaw 

bring  her  back  again.  But,  such  a  death! 
To  starve  to  death  in  such  a  prosperous  land ! 
To  think  their  purse-proud,  stony  hearts  de- 
nied their  crumbs  to  this,  my  starving  lamb ! 
A  father's  broken  heart  now  grapples  for  re- 
venge; and  I  shall  wreak  it  on  this  heartless 
brood."  Then,  raising  his  clenched  fist,  he 
said: 

"Monopolists  and  millionaires  who  pack 
your  plunder  from  the  nation's  vaults  and  in 
the  name  of  Justice  rob  mankind,  and  you 
poor  fools  who  lick  the  rich  man's  shoes  and 
worship  fraud  because  it's  robed  in  gold, 
and  you  who  heard,  unmoved,  my  poor 
child's  cry  for  bread,  I  now  give  notice  to 
you,  one  and  all,  that  I  propose  to  make  the 
world  my  prey!  Widows  shall  wail  and  or- 
phans cry,  and  old  men  tear  their  frosty  locks 
and  howl  with  r?.ge,  and  homeless  thousands 
bite  their  lips  and  curse  my  scheme  while  I 
advance  to  be  a  millionaire.  And  now,  hy- 
pocrisy, thou  cool,  keen,  smiling  villain,  come 
to  my  aid !  Teach  me  to  coax  and  flatter 
fools  with  skill  and  lull  the  qualms  of  con- 
science into  quiet.  Banish  both  pity  and  re- 
morse and  make  the  sight  of  cruelty  seem 


A   Strange   Flaw 

sweet,  while  I,  with  grace  and  polish  unex- 
celled, proceed  to  grind!" 

This  burst  of  anguish  was  interrupted  by 
the  return  of  the  policeman  with  one  of  the 
employes  of  the  coroner's  office.  The  em- 
ploye made  a  few  inquiries  and  the  remains 
of  the  child  were  taken  to  the  morgue.  This 
wretched  father  on  the  following  day  accom- 
panied the  pine  box  containing  its  body  to 
the  Potters'  Field,  where  was  deposited  the 
withered  relic  of  his  beloved. 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  FLAW 

"You  may  have  had  a  narrow  escape,"  said 
the  talkative  public  stenographer,  when  John 
Duncan  had  just  finished  dictating  an  impor- 
tant letter. 

"How's  that?" 

"Why,  an  evil  looking  lunatic  came  in  a 
while  ago  and  said  he  wanted  to  see  you." 

"What  did  he  want  of  me?" 

"He  said  he  had  an  appointment  with 
you." 

"Didn't  he  give  his  name?" 

"Yes,  he  said  it  was  Bragg,  or  something 
of  that  kind." 

"What  became  of  him?" 

"He  was  turned  over  to  the  police  and 
taken  to  jail." 

"Tell  the  parties  who  had  him  arrested  to 
release  him  and  have  him  shown  up  here  at 
once." 

"He  may  commit  an  assault  upon  you." 

33 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"That's  my  affair.  Do  as  I  say." 
When  Bragg  arrived  he  was  indeed  a  sorry 
looking  sight,  but  Duncan  was  friendly  in  his 
greeting,  and  after  they  had  talked  a  few 
minutes  Duncan  said :  "Well,  I  will  call  a 
cab  and  we  will  go  and  see  that  grant.  I 
think  you  had  better  wear  this  duster;  like  the 
mantle  of  charity  it  will  cover  many  defects." 
While  speaking,  Duncan  was  engaged  in 
opening  his  valise,  from  whence  he  drew  forth 
an  old  linen  duster  and  handed  it  to  Bragg. 
In  a  few  moments  the  two  men  were  in  a 
cab  on  their  way  to  the  government  land  of- 
fice. During  the  drive  Duncan  was  silent 
and  Bragg  was  too  weak  and  sad  to  do  much 
talking. 

Finally  they  reached  the  place.    The  grant 
was  found  and  examined.     It  was  a  grant  by 

the  United  States  to  the  State  of 

for  the  purpose  of  internal  improvement  of 
all   lands    between   certain   boundaries,    and 
then  came  a  word  written  about  this  way, 
S^  J  '         so  k  was  Doubtful  wheth- 
^X^^^^y^-  er  it  was  including  or  ex- 
V        eluding,     and    then     fol- 
lowed the  description  of  a  large  tract  of  land, 
embracing  several  counties  which  had  either 

34 


A   Strange   Flaw 

been  included  or  excluded  from  the  grant.  If 
included,  the  title  had  passed  to  the  State  to 
be  disposed  of  for  internal  improvements  as 
the  legislature  might  choose,  and  it  could 
grant  them  to  aid  in  building  a  railroad.  If 
not  included,  the  title  remained  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  lands  might  be  entered  by  act- 
ual settlers  under  the  homestead  law.  The 
latter  construction  had  been  adopted  by  the 
department  and  the  lands  conveyed  by  pat- 
ents to  settlers.  These  patents  were  void  if 
the  word  was  including.  Duncan  examined 
the  grant  with  great  care.  Here  was  cer- 
tainly a  gigantic  flaw.  Bragg  waited  eagerly 
for  some  expression  from  Duncan,  but  he  re- 
mained silent.  Finally  Duncan  said,  "I  will 
see  you  to-morrow."  Bragg's  haggard  face 
turned  pale  as  he  heard  these  words.  Dun- 
can noticed  it  and  asked,  "Will  that  be  satis- 
factory? I  want  time  to  think  the  matter 
over.  Can't  you  come  then?" 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Bragg,  despondently. 

"Have  you  some  other  engagement?"  in- 
quired Duncan. 

"No,  but  to  tell  the  truth  I  haven't  eaten 
anything  since  yesterday  morning,  and  then 
I  breakfasted  on  banana  peelings  and  de- 

35 


A  Strange  Flaw 

cayed  vegetables,  and  unless  I  get  something 
to  eat  soon,  I  may  not  be  here  to-morrow 
morning." 

Duncan  hesitated  a  moment;  then  he  put 
his  hand  in  his  pocket  and  slowly  drew  forth 
a  silver  dollar.  He  looked  at  the  coin  and 
then  at  Bragg;  then  at  the  coin  again,  and 
finally  he  handed  it  to  him,  saying,  "I  will 
lend  you  a  dollar  until  I  determine  what  to 
do.  Don't  waste  it,  but  make  it  go  as  far  as 
you  can."  Then,  taking  a  memorandum 
book  from  his  inside  pocket,  he  drew  a  pencil 
out  of  it  and  asked,  "What  is  your  first  name? 
I  have  forgotten." 

"Henderson,"  answered  Bragg. 

"Where  is  your  address?" 

"I  have  none  at  present." 

Thereupon  Duncan  carefully  wrote  in  the 
book  the  following : 

"Henderson  Bragg,  Dr., 
To  loan  on  account  of  flaw  in  grant.  .$1.00." 

Then  the  two  men  separated.  Duncan  to 
return  to  the  hotel  and  Bragg  to  the  nearest 
lunch  counter. 

It  had  been  a  long  time  since  he  had  pos- 

36 


A  Strange   Flaw 

sessed  so  much  money,  and  he  examined  it 
with  much  care  to  assure  himself  that  it  was 
not  counterfeit.  He  was  almost  afraid  to 
show  it  lest  he  might  be  suspected  of  theft. 
The  hard  metal  felt  good  to  his  palm  and 
the  picture  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  looked 
like  an  angel's  face. 

Duncan  at  once  began  to  plan  for  taking 
advantage  of  the  knowledge  he  had  procured. 
He  had  no  question  but  what  the  flaw  could 
be  utilized,  but  whether  Bragg  should  be  re- 
lied upon  to  do  the  work  was  the  great  prob- 
lem. He  tried  to  recall  his  old  school  days 
at  Yale.  The  memory  of  them  was  hazy, 
but  he  recollected  Bragg  as  a  favorite  in  all 
the  sports  and  as  the  best  debater  in  the 
school,  and  he  concluded  that  he  must  still 
possess  the  same  talents.  He  considered  him 
one  of  those  men  who  lack  power  to  originate 
schemes,  but  who  can  work  very  effectively 
in  carrying  out  the  directions  of  others.  By 
the  next  morning  he  had  concluded  to  give 
Bragg  an  opportunity  to  show  what  was  in 
him.  Even  then,  had  Duncan  thought  of 
someone  else  who  could  have  been  used  more 
effectually,  he  would  not  have  hesitated  to  dis- 

37 


429131 


A  Strange  Flaw 

miss  Bragg  without  a  word,  and  proceed  to 
utilize  the  flaw  through  another  agency. 

When  Bragg  appeared  in  the  morning  he 
had  greatly  improved  in  appearance.  The 
dollar  had  worked  a  transformation  not  only 
in  the  expression  of  his  face  but  in  his  wear- 
ing apparel. 

"I  have  concluded,"  said  Duncan,  "that 
the  flaw  is  a  good  one  and  can  be  worked 
profitably." 

"Now,"  said  Bragg,  "if  we  could  only  buy 
these  lands  from  the  State  we  could  probably 
get  them  cheap." 

"Buy  nothing,"  said  Duncan.  "We  can't 
afford  to  buy  them.  Bragg,  you  are  green." 

"How  can  we  get  them,  then?" 

"Why,  steal  them,"  said  Duncan.  "Get 
the  legislature  to  give  them  to  us." 

"Do  you  think  they  would  do  that?"  asked 
Bragg. 

"Excepting  the  evergreen,  there  is  nothing 
so  green  as  the  average  State  legislature,"  said 
Duncan.  "We'll  get  the  settlers  to  grade, 
bridge,  and  tie  a  railroad  for  us  through  that 
country  and  then  get  the  legislature  to  give 
us  all  the  land  to  help  us  buy  the  iron." 

38 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"But,  will  the  people  be  so  foolish  as  to  do 
that?"  eagerly  asked  Bragg. 

"Foolish!  My  God!  Don't  you  know 
that  nearly  all  the  railroads  in  the  United 
States  have  been  built  that  way?  The  people 
build  them  and  give  them  to  the  companies. 
Why,  the  passion  of  an  Arab  for  his  horse,  a 
miser  for  his  gold  or  a  maid  for  her  lover  are 
weak  and  tame  compared  to  that  of  western 
farmers  and  villagers  for  a  railroad.  The 
idea  of  getting  one  in  a  country  where  they 
have  none  sets  them  crazy.  They  will  give 
you  the  money  they  owe  to  others,  vote  the 
roof  from  over  their  heads,  and  the  bread  out 
of  the  mouths  of  their  children,  and  take  their 
pay  in  railroad  stock.  There  is  no  end  to 
the  absurdities  that  you  can  cause  them  to  be- 
lieve. Now,  I  propose  that  you  and  I  and  a 
few  others,  to  make  a  show,  organize  a  cor- 
poration for  the  purpose  of  constructing  and 
operating  a  railroad.  I'll  furnish  you  with 
expense  money,  and  you  go  out  into  the  vicin- 
ity where  these  lands  are  and  tell  the  people 
that  a  foreign  corporation,  whose  agent  you 
are,  is  contemplating  building  a  railroad 
through  there.  That  will  excite  them.  One 
locality  will  strive  against  another,  and  you 

39 


A  Strange  Flaw 

can  get  the  people  along  the  line  to  grade, 
bridge  and  tie  the  road  and  take  their  pay  in 
railroad  stock.  When  you  have  done  that,  in 
order  to  render  the  stock  worthless,  we  will 
mortgage  the  road-bed  to  another  corpora- 
tion which  we  shall  form,  foreclose  the  mort- 
gage, sell  the  road,  bid  it  in  ourselves  and 
then  get  the  legislature  to  grant  us  the  land, 
to  furnish  it.  We  can  sell  a  part  of  the  lands, 
buy  the  rolling  stock  and  complete  and  own 
the  road." 

"But,"  said  Bragg,  "won't  that  be  too  se- 
vere on  the  inhabitants?  They  will  all  be  de- 
prived of  their  homes  after  building  the  road 
for  us?  Will  the  people  endure  being  driven 
from  their  homes?  Won't  they  rise  up  in 
wrath,  tear  up  our  railroad  and  massacre  us?" 

"Endure  it!"  repeated  Duncan.  "They'll 
have  to  endure  it.  We  violate  no  law.  Be- 
sides, we  will  have  the  army  and  the  navy  of 
the  United  States  at  our  backs.  They  may 
sputter  around  a  little,  but  they  will  soon  set- 
tle down.  The  first  thing  for  you  to  do, 
Bragg,  is  to  visit  the  tailor's.  I  will  loan 
you  some  money  so  that  you  can  fit  yourself 
out.  The  world  thinks  rags  are  dishonest 

40 


A  Strange   Flaw 

and  filth  a  crime.  When  you  return  we  will 
proceed  to  organize  a  corporation." 

uls  it  necessary  to  do  that?  Can't  we 
carry  on  the  business  as  well  without?"  in- 
quired Bragg. 

"Why,  no."  answered  Duncan.  "The  law 
would  then  hold  us  responsible  for  our  acts. 
That's  just  what  we  want  to  avoid.  We  want 
a  corporation  to  receive  the  blame  and  losses 
while  we  receive  the  profits.  A  corporation 
is  an  intangible,  invisible  creature,  which  ex- 
ists only  in  contemplation  of  law.  It  cannot 
be  weighed,  measured,  imprisoned  or  hung; 
but  it  can  weigh,  measure,  imprison  and  hang 
others.  It  is  created  by  man,  and  although 
it  neither  eats  nor  drinks,  may  live  forever, 
unless  the  high  and  holy  will  of  its  creators 
take  its  life.  It  has  no  soul,  no  breath,  no 
feeling,  no  compassion.  The  frigid  ice  of 
Winter  and  the  scorching  sun  of  Summer  un- 
heeded come  and  go.  Mangled  anj  bleeding 
from  its  iron  hands  the  helpless  raise  their 
eyes  imploringly  for  aid.  It  takes  no  notice 
of  their  cries.  Sheltered  and  guarded  by  its 
form  invisible,  its  agents  with  impunity  rob 
and  plunder  whom  they  wish.  The  spider 
spins  his  web  and  the  unwary  insect  sees  it 


A  Strange   Flaw 

not  until  too  late,  and  for  its  folly  answers 
with  its  life.  So  we  scheming  men,  when  we 
hunt  gudgeons,  lay  our  nets  and  spin  our 
webs  and  smile  to  see  the  fools  rush  in.  We 
do  not  kill  them  as  the  spiders  do  their  prey. 
We  shear  them  and  let  them  live  to  grow  an- 
other fleece  which  we  can  shear  again.  To 
gild  our  conduct  with  the  gloss  of  honor  we 
take  our  charter  from  the  government.  The 
great  seal  of  the  State  covers  our  crimes  and 
seals  up  suspicious  eyes.  Being  thus  invested 
with  superior  power,  we  form  our  articles  and 
pass  our  laws,  the  only  ones  that  we  obey. 
Clothed  in  this  artificial  shape  our  movements 
are  so  subtle,  mysterious  and  complex,  that 
gaping  idiots  stand  aghast,  and  in  obsequious 
and  fawning  attitudes  empty  their  wallets  in 
our  hands." 

"I  think  I  understand,"  said  Bragg.  "We 
create  this  invisible  agent  in  order  that  we 
may  use  Its  name.  We  really  cheat  and  steal 
on  our  own  account,  but  by  the  adoption  of 
certain  rules  and  regulations  in  doing  so,  we 
are  not  held  personally  responsible,  and  by 
fiction  of  law  all  our  misdeeds  are  saddled 
on  this  nonentity  which  exists  only  in  imag- 
ination and  cannot  be  punished.  A  splendid 

42 


A  Strange   Flaw 

scheme,  Mr.  Duncan,  worthy  the  conception 
of  Satan  himself.  What  will  we  name  this 
offspring  of  our  minds?" 

"We  must  give  it  a  good  name.  Let  me 
see,"  said  Duncan. 

"How  would  it  do  to  call  it  the  'Gull  and 
Swindle  Railroad  Company,'  in  honor  of  the 
Goddess  Gull  and  her  handmaid  Swindle, 
who  you  say  preside  over  railroad  building?" 
inquired  Bragg  ironically. 

"Wouldn't  do  at  all.  That  is  too  sug- 
gestive. As  we  intend  to  have  it  become  in- 
solvent in  about  a  year,  how  would  it  do  to 
call  it  The  Sound  and  Reliable  R.  R.  Co.  ?'  " 
said  Duncan. 

"A  very  good  name,  indeed,"  said  Bragg. 

A  short  time  after  this  conversation  the 
two  men  went  to  New  York  City,  and  used 
the  names  of  a  few  of  Duncan's  office  clerks 
with  their  own  and  organized  a  corporation 
for  the  purpose  of  building  and  operating  a 
railroad.  They  provided  for  the  issuance  of 
six  million  dollars  of  stock,  and  the  election  of 
officers  every  two  years.  Henderson  Bragg 
was  made  president,  John  Duncan,  secretary 
and  treasurer. 

Before  starting   for  the  West  Bragg  re- 

43 


A  Strange   Flaw 

ceived  his  final  instructions  from  John  Dun- 
can, and  his  parting  words  to  him  were, 
"Bragg,  be  very  good.  You  can't  play  piety 
too  strong.  Be  patient,  speak  like  an  angel 
of  charity,  and  mask  your  purposes  with  pious 
smiles." 

Thus  admonished,  one  fine  morning  in  the 
early  summer,  Bragg  started  for  the  west, 
fully  equipped  to  carry  out  the  plan.  Dressed 
in  fashionable  attire,  a  large  gold  watch  chain 
and  fob,  a  high  silk  hat,  a  well  shaven  face, 
he  looked  every  inch  the  well-to-do  promoter. 
The  change  was  great.  He  was  now  going 
to  the  country  which  he  had  tramped  over 
less  than  a  year  before,  and  been  hunted  down 
as  a  criminal  because  he  was  a  beggar.  He 
was  going  back  as  a  beggar  in  one  sense,  but 
not  one  that  asks  for  a  meal  of  victuals.  He 
went  to  masquerade  as  a  railroad  magnate, 
and  beg  the  people  to  benefit  themselves  by 
helping  him. 


44 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  III 

A  SMILING  LAND 

The  tract  of  country  which  lay  in  the 
shadow  of  the  flaw  discovered  by  Henderson 
Bragg  embraced  in  its  area  several  counties, 
and  was  indeed  a  smiling  land.  Its  green 
landscapes  were  dotted  with  thousands  of 
happy  homes,  in  which  industry  and  frugality 
dwelt  together.  And  many  a  little  bustling 
village  basked  in  the  light  on  its  sunny  slopes 
or  nestled  in  the  forests  of  its  valleys,  by  its 
winding  streams. 

Thither,  in  earlier  days,  a  thrifty  and  hope- 
ful people  had  come  to  make  their  homes, 
and  had  there  labored  patiently  and  cheer- 
fully amid  perils,  privations,  heat  and  cold, 
until  they  had  converted  the  desert  of  the 
savage  into  a  garden  of  civilization.  Many 
had  come  rosy  with  the  flush  of  youth,  who 
were  now  trembling  with  the  feebleness  of 
age.  Time  and  toil  had  furrowed  their  brows 
and  unstrung  their  nerves;  and  their  be- 

45 


A  Strange  Flaw 

dimmed  eyes  warned  them  of  the  approach- 
ing shadows  of  death.  Their  sole  reward  for 
a  life  of  toil  was  the  sight  of  the  little  cottage 
they  had  builded,  the  farm  they  had  tended, 
and  the  contemplation  that,  when  the  fast 
expiring  light  of  life,  which  now  flickered  in 
a  dusky  twilight,  should  go  out  in  darkness 
from  the  earth,  and  their  eyes  should  no  more 
behold  the  old  homestead  and  the  avails  of 
their  life  work,  it  would  still  remain  to  bless 
the  children  they  had  reared. 

In  the  summer  of  their  strength  they  had 
received  patents  for  their  lands  from  the 
United  States,  and  while  the  ravages  of  fire 
and  the  devouring  tornado  might  desolate 
the  surface,  yet  they  believed  that  their  titles 
were  perfect  to  the  soil  itself;  and  that  in  it 
they  had  a  permanent  estate.  Little  did  they 
dream  that,  lurking  in  the  musty  archives  of 
the  government,  an  ue"  needed  a  loop,  and 
an  "x"  looked  like  an  "n,"  and  that  from 
defects  as  small  as  a  gnat's  egg  a  giant  would 
be  born,  whose  evil  genius  might  destroy  the 
whole.  Unconscious  of  the  cloud  that  was 
gathering,  boy  and  man,  maid  and  matron, 
toiled  cheerfully  on,  building  and  beautifying 
their  homes,  and  preparing  them  for  Duncan 

46 


A  Strange  Flaw 

and  Bragg;  as  the  happy  birds  build  their 
nests  and  nurse  their  nestlings  in  frolic  and 
song,  heeding  not  the  approaching  hawk, 
who  watches  them  from  his  eyrie  and  in  his 
own  time  descends  and  devours  all  in  a  mo- 
ment. 

Near  the  eastern  boundary  of  this  tract  of 
land  there  was  a  beautiful  village,  which  we 
will  call  Littletown.  It  nestled  in  the  bosom 
of  a  green  oak  forest,  on  the  sunset  shore  of 
a  lovely  lake.  Within  its  bounds  were  gently 
rising  hills,  pleasant  knolls,  valleys  and 
meadow  lands;  and  through  its  verdant  vales 
rippled  pure  and  ever-flowing  rills,  and  from 
its  hillsides,  here  and  there,  cool,  constant 
springs  gushed  forth  their  grateful  streams, 
inviting  all  to  slake  their  thirst.  Self-quar- 
ried rocks  lay  loosely  on  the  earth  around,  or 
peeped  in  myriads  from  beneath  the  soil, 
shaped  by  the  God  of  nature  for  the  builder's 
hand,  that  all  who  wished  might  come  and 
build  a  home. 

Spring  came  and  clad  its  hills  and  vales  in 
green  and  filled  its  woods  and  fields  with 
choicest  flowers,  which  bloomed  unfilled,  un- 
asked, and  with  their  fragrance  filled  the 

47 


A  Strange  Flaw 

bracing  air,  and  by  their  beauty  taught  the 
world  to  love. 

Then  Summer  came,  and  made  the  mead- 
ows red  with  berries,  which  all  might  freely 
pick  and  still  enough  be  left  to  pay  the  boun- 
teous earth  for  its  delicious  fruit.  The  stalks 
of  ripening  grain,  in  massy  phalanx  stood, 
and  bent  their  golden  heads,  reared  from  the 
earth  with  just  sufficient  toil  to  sweeten  the 
owner's  taste.  And  blackberries  ripened  on 
the  heath-girt  vales  and  bushy  slopes,  as  free 
as  air,  as  plentiful  as  heart  could  wish. 

And  Autumn  came,  and  painted  woods  and 
fields  in  golden  hues,  and  nuts  in  copious 
showers  fell  from  its  trees  and  bushes  brown. 

Then  Winter  came,  not  harsh,  but  mild, 
when  peace,  rest,  joy,  and  social  life  were 
clustered  round  the  crackling  grate,  where 
love,  by  stories,  games  and  friendly  chats, 
with  mirth  and  music  could  while  away  the 
fleeting  hours.  And  just  as  all  were  tired  of 
Winter's  reign,  fresh  as  the  morning's  dawn, 
young  Spring  broke  forth  again,  and  the 
heart  leaped  gladly  while  the  spring  birds 
sang. 

Thus  passed  the  circling  years,  seasoned 
with  such  sweet  variety  and  change  of  scene, 

48 


A  Strange   Flaw 

that  none  by  monotony  might  tire,  and  rural 
life  tripped  on  from  youth  to  age,  as  the 
traveler  going  from  clime  to  clime  beguiles 
his  hours  away,  until  his  journey  ends  when 
he  had  thought  it  scarce  begun. 

Such  was  the  village  and  surrounding 
scenes,  that  he  who  looked  upon  its  smiling 
lake,  girt  with  embowering  groves,  and  filled 
with  sporting  fish;  who  wandered  up  and 
down  its  peaceful  streams,  and  heard  its  sing- 
ing birds,  and  plucked  its  beauteous  flowers, 
and  tilled  its  fertile  soil;  who,  from  the  dis- 
tance, saw  its  spires  arise  among  the  trees, 
when  morning's  rosy  beams  tinted  its  tops 
with  gold  and  gilded  the  curling  smoke  that 
upwards  from  its  cottages  ascended;  who 
breathed  its  pure  and  bracing  air  and  slaked 
his  thirst  from  out  its  flowing  springs,  must 
from  his  heart  have  said :  "Omnipotence  has 
done  his  utmost  here  to  make  a  beauteous  and 
a  happy  land.  There  is  no  need  of  want  or 
misery  where  earth,  air,  sky,  forest  and  flower 
combine  to  bless  mankind,  and  every  breeze 
whispers  peace." 

To  this  delightful  village  the  Fall  before, 
Bragg  had  tramped  in  search  of  food,  shel- 
ter and  employment.  In  such  a  land  of  plenty 

49 


A  Strange  Flaw 

and  profusion  such  a  search  ought  not  to  be 
in  vain.  He  came  there  then  as  a  beggar. 
Necessity  couched  in  rags  on  every  limb,  and 
shivered  in  the  chill  air  of  the  Autumn.  Hun- 
ger and  want  pleaded  for  food  and  shelter 
from  every  joint  and  motion  of  his  body. 
It  was  after  an  exceedingly  fruitful  harvest. 
The  granaries  were  heaped  with  mountains 
of  food,  the  cellars  were  crammed  with  deli- 
cious fruits,  and  the  people  were  rendering 
thanks  to  God  for  his  bounties.  It  was  on 
a  Sabbath  evening  that  Bragg  applied  at  the 
home  of  Oliver  Cromwell  Jinks,  a  prosperous 
merchant,  and  asked  for  supper,  offering  to 
work  in  payment.  Mrs.  Jinks  replied,  "I 
don't  keep  hotel,  sir." 

"But  they  will  not  keep  me  at  the  hotel," 
pleaded  Bragg.  "I  have  no  money.  I  am 
willing  to  work  for  you;  I  will  do  anything. 
Please  take  pity  on  a  poor  man  who  has  no 
place  to  go,  and  no  friends  to  help  him." 

"Sit  down  on  the  step,  you  lazy,  worthless 
fellow,"  said  she,  "and  I  will  see  what  I  can 
do  for  you." 

The  proud  soul  of  Mrs.  Jinks  was  deeply 
stirred.  She  sought  out  her  husband  and 
asked  him  what  to  do.  His  conscience  could 

50 


A  Strange  Flaw 

not  bear  the  idea  of  encouraging  vagrancy  by 
feeding  a  tramp.  Upon  reflection  he 
thought  it  his  duty  to  enforce  the  law.  So  he 
slyly  slid  out  of  the  back  door,  found  a  con- 
stable, had  him  arrest  Bragg  for  vagrancy, 
and  take  him  to  jail.  There  Bragg  got  food 
and  shelter  for  the  night,  and  was  released 
the  next  morning  on  his  promise  to  leave 
town  at  once,  which  he  did.  But  when  the 
same  Henderson  Bragg,  one  fine  June  morn- 
ing, dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion,  came  in 
on  the  stage — not  to  ask  for  a  supper,  or  a 
crust  of  bread,  but  to  ask  the  people  to  build 
a  railroad  and  give  it  to  him — no  one  recog- 
nized him  and  his  reception  was  very  differ- 
ent. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  president 
of  the  "Sound  and  Reliable  Railroad  Com- 
pany" was  at  the  Globe  House,  the  business 
men  of  the  place  called  upon  him  and  vied 
with  each  other  in  offers  to  help  him.  He 
was  entreated  by  many  to  make  his  home  with 
them  while  he  remained.  As  Bragg  had  be- 
fore wondered  at  the  niggard  cruelty  of  the 
people,  he  was  now  amazed  at  their  kindness 
and  generosity.  With  a  malicious  twinkle  in 
his  eye  he  said  to  himself: 

51 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"What  a  contemptible  and  trifling  race  are 
these  villagers.  When  I  asked  them  for  a 
crust  of  bread  they  had  me  jailed,  and  now 
they  beg  me  to  take  their  food.  But  here's 
the  odds,  'tis  not  the  vagrant  that  they  pun- 
ish, 'tis  his  clothes.  The  prince  asks  for  a 
subsidy  of  thousands.  A  million  pockets  an- 
swer yes.  The  tramp  asks  for  a  crust  and 
gets  a  prison.  The  smallness  of  the  asking 
makes  the  crime.  Knowing  that  I  was  poor 
they  fed  me  on  crusts,  buttered  with  gall. 
They  now  think  I  am  rich  and  offer  me  sor- 
ghum, expecting  to  be  paid  in  honey.  I  will 
pay  the  hypocrites  in  hypocrisy,  the  cruel  in 
cruelty,  and  the  selfish  in  selfishness.  Let  the 
gullions  who  have  gaped  their  mouths  so 
broadly  to  swallow  me,  swallow  my  bait  and 
I  will  rift  the  clouds  long  enough  to  give 
them  a  gleam  of  their  own  kind  of  justice." 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   JINKS   FAMILY 

Of  all  those  who  resided  in  this  beautiful 
village  the  most  aristocratic  was  this  Jinks 
family.  It  consisted  of  three  persons — father, 
mother  and  daughter.  Oliver  Cromwell 
Jinks  was  the  potentious  cognomen  of  the 
father.  Elizabeth  Stuart  Jinks,  the  ponder- 
ous appellation  of  the  mother.  This  proud 
pair  were  giant  offsprings  of  English  soil. 
They  were  not  monarchs  exactly;  they  were 
imitations  of  monarchs.  They  had  all  the 
conceit  and  arrogance  of  kings,  without  a 
kingdom;  all  the  strut  and  stiffness  of  nobil- 
ity, without  a  vassalage.  They  were  fair 
samples  of  the  excrescences  sloughed  off  by 
monarchical  governments.  Born  and  bred  in 
serfdom,  reared  in  vassalage,  and  galled  by 
hereditary  lords  and  gentry,  they  had  left 
England  and  come  to  America  to  help  rule 
it.  When  they  came  to  Littletown,  they  tried 
at  once  to  imitate  the  conduct  of  their  op- 

53 


A   Strange   Flaw 

pressors  in  the  old  world.  Nature  had  pro- 
vided them  with  the  insolence,  ignorance  and 
conceit  necessary,  but  they  lacked  authority 
in  law.  The  people  of  Littletown  looked  with 
laughter  and  contempt  upon  their  efforts  to 
ape  royalty.  Nevertheless,  Oliver  Cromwell 
assumed  the  role  of  dictator,  prompter  and 
critic  in  all  the  transactions  of  the  village, 
and  Elizabeth  Stuart  employed  herself  in  ar- 
ranging the  ranks  and  castes  of  the  people, 
according  to  English  rules  of  birth  and  avo- 
cation. She  claimed  to  trace  the  blood  in  her 
veins  back  through  several  generations  of  un- 
known persons  to  some  prominent  English- 
man. They  were  both  conscientious  people, 
but  the  current  of  their  life  blood  had  been 
poisoned  in  youth  by  the  false  pride  and  un- 
natural condition  of  English  society. 

'Tis  the  principal  curse  of  monarchy  that 
it  engenders  the  spirt  of  oppression  to  such 
an  extent  that  even  slaves  are  tyrants.  The 
treatment  the  serf  receives  from  his  master 
he  gives  to  his  children,  and  the  frown  that 
bristles  upon  the  brow  of  the  monarch  curdles 
the  countenance  of  every  underling  down  to 
the  very  beasts  of  the  field.  Cruelty  is  catch- 
ing. A  cruel  man  will  have  a  cruel  dog.  So 

54 


A  Strange   Flaw 

the  dispositions  of  these  two  persons  were 
very  much  unsuited  to  American  society. 
Their  aristrocracy  was  annoying,  but  being 
shoddy,  was  not  dangerous.  You  plant  a 
melon  patch  near  to  a  pumpkin  patch  and  the 
melons  will  ape  the  pumpkins,  and  become 
coarse,  corky,  tasteless  things,  utterly  useless 
as  melons  and  worthless  as  pumpkins.  So 
these  plebeian  melons,  having  grown  up  by 
the  side  of  the  aristocratic  pumpkins  of  Eng- 
land thought  themselves  "some  pumpkins," 
but  were  not.  They  had  merely  lost  their  na- 
tional vigor  and  had  become  an  insipid, 
squashy  growth;  of  small  value  as  American 
citizens,  and  a  sort  of  parody  upon  nobility. 
A  sweet  offset  to  this  unattractive  pair  was 
Jennie  Jinks,  their  blooming  daughter  of 
twenty  years.  She  was  of  medium  height 
and  in  her  form  both  grace  and  symmetry 
combined.  Note  in  the  rosy  east  morn's  ear- 
liest kiss,  such  the  warm  crimson  that  bloomed 
on  her  cheeks,  and  when  the  water-lily  is 
freshest  in  its  bed,  see  then  its  pure  and 
creamy  tint;  such  was  the  hue  her  neck  and 
forehead  wore.  And  from  her  fair,  full 
brow,  her  hair  in  jetty  ringlets  backward  to 
her  shoulders  rolled.  And  in  her  eyes  fount- 

55 


A   Strange   Flaw 

ains  of  unshed  tears  sparkled  like  stars  and 
a  sweet  piety  lifted  her  eyeballs  like  a  saint's 
in  prayer,  and  from  the  depths  of  those  gray, 
dreamy  orbs,  love  and  compassion  looked 
into  the  world.  And  then  her  mouth,  how 
small  and  gently  curved,  just  large  enough  to 
kiss,  and  oh!  her  ruby  lips,  how  tenderly 
they  pouted  and  promised  love.  So  sweetly 
they  were  pursed  that  one  would  think  Na- 
ture, in  making  them,  had  made  a  kiss  and 
left  it  there  to  tempt  mankind.  And  when 
she  smiled  love  danced  in  every  dimple  in  her 
cheeks  and  looked  from  every  corner  of  her 
eyes.  Her  step  was  light  as  zephyr,  her 
voice  was  clear  and  sweet,  and  when  she 
spoke,  as  oft  she  did,  of  love  or  sympathy, 
her  hungry  hearers  in  silence  drank  the  honey 
of  her  words.  In  form  and  voice  she  seemed 
an  instrument  that  nature  had  made  and 
tuned  to  sing  a  song  of  love.  Her  soul  was 
filled  with  poetry  and  her  nimble  fancy  often 
left  the  narrow  earth,  and  on  imaginary  pin- 
ions soared  to  uncreated  realms.  She  fed  on 
romance  and  her  soul  in  rapture  hung  upon 
the  flowery  lines  of  lovelorn  bards,  or  wan- 
dered with  some  fabled  hero  through  his  per- 
ilous exploits,  shared  all  his  dangers,  pitied 

56 


A  Strange  Flaw 

all  his  pains,  forgave  his  errors,  admired  his 
courage,  worshipped  his  fidelity  and  learned 
to  love  him  as  he  journeyed  on;  and  as  the 
bard's  caprice  caused  him  on  flowery  or  in 
thorny  paths  to  tread  she  smiled  or  wept  until 
the  tale  was  done.  In  her  hours  of  solitude, 
her  mind  pictured  a  little  home  where  one 
who  loved  her  more  than  life  might  share 
with  her  a  love  as  true  as  heaven,  as  shoreless 
as  eternity.  This  had  been  her  dream  from 
early  girlhood,  and  as  the  current  of  her  years 
rolled  on  and  her  nature  unfolded  like  the 
blooming  flower,  this  dream  became  more 
vivid  and  her  heart  longed  more  and  more  to 
find  the  love  it  panted  to  bestow. 

She  need  not  have  waited  long  for  her  love, 
save  for  one  sentiment — 'twas  pride,  the 
thistle  that  grew  in  paradise.  It  was  her  just 
inheritance ;  she  had  nursed  it  from  her  moth- 
er's breast;  she  had  caught  it  in  the  shadow 
of  a  throne.  This  pride  caused  her  to  hope 
she  might  wed  a  titled  hero,  and  in  her 
dreams  of  bliss  the  brawny  hands  and 
swarthy  faces  of  the  young  men  of  Littletown 
were  not  seen.  But,  while  lovers  are  plenty, 
heroes  are  scarce,  and  wearying  at  last  in 

57 


A  Strange  Flaw 

waiting,  her  heart  began  to  cling  to  less  ro- 
mantic forms  and  features. 

The  pompous  manners  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well Jinks  made  him  unpopular,  and  his  trade 
dwindled,  until  he  could  no  longer  afford  a 
clerk  in  the  store ;  so,  when  he  went  home  to 
meals,  or  had  an  errand  out,  he  required  Jen- 
nie to  stay  in  the  store  for  him.  He  and  Mrs. 
Jinks  had  many  discussions  before  they  had 
concluded  that  it  would  be  proper  to  have 
Jennie  perform  such  service.  Finally,  they 
settled  the  matter  by  deciding  that,  while  it 
would  be  disgraceful  for  her  to  do  such 
work  for  another,  yet  as  Oliver  Cromwell 
Jinks  imparted  his  own  nobility  to  his  busi- 
ness, it  was  no  disgrace  for  anyone  to  help 
him.  Accordingly,  Jennie  was  very  fre- 
quently at  the  store,  engaged  in  looking  after 
her  father's  interests  while  he  was  away. 

On  one  very  rainy  and  disagreeable  after- 
noon in  the  early  spring,  while  Jennie  was 
thus  engaged,  there  came  into  the  store,  to 
get  out  of  the  rain,  a  country  lad,  by  the  name 
of  Harry  Hawkins.  He  was  the  only  son 
of  Mary  Hawkins.  His  father  had  died 
when  he  was  an  infant  and  he  had  been  sup- 
ported by  the  toil  and  frugality  of  the  mother 

58 


A  Strange  Flaw 

until  he  was  able  to  assist  In  supplying  their 
humble  wants.  They  lived  in  a  snug  little 
cottage  on  a  small  farm  near  the  village.  In- 
ured to  toil  from  childhood,  and  exposed  to 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  Harry  had  ac- 
quired, at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  a  strong, 
well-knit  frame  and  a  most  robust  health. 
He  had  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  and  the  ruddy, 
but  brawny,  complexion  of  tan  and  freckles, 
such  as  the  sun  and  wind  of  western  climes 
produce.  He  had  arrived  at  that  period 
when  a  young  man  appears  the  most  awkward 
and  ungainly,  for  he  then  has  the  form  of  a 
man,  but  the  mind  of  a  boy.  There  was  little 
in  Harry  that  differed  from  ordinary  country 
lads,  except  the  reflective  appearance  of  his 
face.  A  somewhat  serious  and  studious  ex- 
pression peered  from  his  eyes  and  wrinkled 
on  his  forehead.  What  education  he  pos- 
sessed he  had  acquired  winters  in  the  district 
school,  and  studying  by  the  fireside  at  home. 
Early  in  youth  he  had  caught  an  ambition  to 
be  a  learned  man,  and  while  others  spent  their 
leisure  hours  attending  parties  and  balls,  or 
going  to  town,  and  chatting  on  the  street  cor- 
ners, Harry  was  with  his  books,  greedily 
drinking  In  knowledge  on  'som£  new  subject. 

59 


A  Strange  Flaw 

It  had  been  the  steadfast  hope  of  his  mother 
that  he  would  take  to  the  farm,  work  it  and 
make  a  home  for  her  when  she  was  able  to 
work  no  longer. "  His  disposition  of  a  book- 
worm troubled  her,  and  though  he  always 
worked  well,  yet  there  was  an  abstracted  ex- 
pression on  his  face,  and  sometimes  she  would 
hear  him  muttering  to  himself  when  alone, 
and  in  these  mutterings  he  never  mentioned 
cattle,  corn,  or  wheat,  but  seemed  to  be  ab- 
sorbed upon  topics  wholly  foreign  to  the 
farm.  He  lived  not  in  the  present,  but  in  the 
future. 

He  had  often  been  down  to  the  store  be- 
fore and  had  watched  Jennie  at  her  work. 
He  had  noted  how  patiently  she  had  answered 
the  thousand  questions  of  the  five-cent  cus- 
tomer; and  took  down  and  unrolled  a  hun- 
dred bolts  of  calico,  and  unfurled  several  rods 
of  ribbon,  as  she  listened  to  the  monotonous 
comments  of  the  old  lady  who  finally  went 
away,  saying  she  would  think  it  over  before 
she  bought. 

It  was  a  dull  day  in  the  mercantile  trade. 
No  customers  were  in.  Mr.  Jinks  was  out. 
Harry  and  Jennie  had  often  spoken  before, 
but  that  day  they  had  nothing  to  do  but  to 

60 


A  Strange   Flaw 

talk  to  each  other.  Oh!  that  I  knew  some 
tender  tongue,  some  language  liquid  as  the 
oil  of  rose,  whose  every  word  is  perfume, 
and  would  slip  from  lips  as  gently  as  the  dew 
descends,  as  soft  as  lover's  sighs,  that  I  might 
tell  how  love  was  born,  and  bound  in  one 
these  two  young  hearts.  I  see  them  talking 
there.  At  first  they  speak  of  common  things, 
matters  of  little  interest  and  in  a  formal  way, 
as  if  abashed  to  think  that  they  should  speak 
at  all.  The  eyes  of  each  soon  lose  the  cold, 
retiring  glance,  and  gleam  with  interest,  as 
the  little  words,  like  carrier  doves,  pass  back 
and  forth  between  them,  carrying  a  thread 
invisible  to  weave  in  one  their  hearts  and 
lives.  The  hours  fly  by  unheeded.  They 
cease  to  talk  about  the  world,  and  now  speak 
of  themselves,  their  lives,  their  aspirations, 
joys  and  sorrows,  and  then  of  things  they 
love.  Their  eyes  grow  brighter  and  their 
tones  lower  and  more  tender  as  unconsciously 
they  draw  nearer  together.  They  are  speak- 
ing of  friendship.  I  hear  her  tell  in  accents 
sweet  and  melting  as  music  on  the  midnight 
waters,  with  lips  rosy  as  the  blushing  sunset, 
which  almost  tremble  as  they  speak,  of  how 
she  has  longed  for  friendship  in  the  past; 

61 


A  Strange  Flaw 

how  her  soul  has  yearned  for  someone  to  con- 
fide in  and  tell  her  joys  and  sorrows — who 
would  be  dear  and  true  to  her.  I  see  his  eye- 
lids quiver  and  the  joy  he  feels  reflected  in 
his  eyes  as  he  approaches  and  grasps  her 
hand,  saying :  "Oh !  Jennie,  let  me  be  that 
friend.  I  have  so  longed  for  the  friendship, 
for  the  love,  of  such  a  dear,  good  girl  as  you, 
but  I  dared  not  speak  before." 

She  did  not  answer,  but  turned  away  her 
head.  He  stood  and  held  her  hand  in  his, 
and  when  he  felt  it  grasp  his  closer  and  closer 
he  asked  her  for  a  kiss.  She  seemed  to  hesi- 
tate and  tremble  for  a  moment,  between  love 
and  fear;  he  felt  her  hand  quiver,  but  she 
spoke  not.  All  at  once  she  turned  her  blush- 
ing face  towards  him  and  he  gladly  clasped 
her  in  his  arms,  their  trembling  lips  meeting 
in  a  shower  of  quick,  passionate  kisses,  mixed 
with  tender  sighs.  As  the  parched  earth  de- 
vours the  refreshing  rain — as  the  hungry 
babe  eagerly  drains  the  mother's  breast — so 
their  thirsty  souls  drank  in  each  other's  love. 

How  long  they  thus  remained  need  not  be 
told.  We  have  followed  them  into  the  in- 
extricable labyrinth  of  love.  Let  us  leave 
them  in  their  joy.  At  the  morning's  dawn, 

62 


A  Strange   Flaw 

they  knew  each  other  only  as  common 
friends ;  when  night  came  the  maiden  breathed 
a  new  prayer  to  heaven.  'Twas  for  the 
farmer  lad  whose  life  had  touched  hers.  And, 
miles  away,  in  a  little  cottage  among  the  trees, 
the  farmer  lad  dreamed  of  the  sweet  curly- 
haired  English  girl,  who  had  nestled  on  his 
breast. 


A  Strange   Flaw 


CHAPTER  V 

RAILROAD    BUILDING 

On  the  next  day  after  his  arrival  Bragg 
began  on  his  railroad  scheme.  He  decided 
at  first,  to  see  some  lawyer  who  was  well  ac- 
quainted and  could  advise  him  how  to  pro- 
ceed. As  he  started  down  the  street  he  saw 
an  old  weather-beaten  sign  hanging  out  from 
a  plain  wooden  building,  bearing  on  either 
side  the  inscription,  "Enoch  Foghorn,  Law- 
yer and  Notary  Public." 

"That  sign,"  mused  Bragg,  "has  hung 
there  many  a  year.  The  owner  is  undoubt- 
edly an  old  resident  and  poor.  I  will  go  in." 
When  he  entered  he  found  Enoch  Foghorn 
seated  at  his  desk. 

Foghorn  was  about  fifty  years  old,  slender 
and  scrawny.  He  had  a  hawkbill  nose,  a 
grim  solemn  face  and  coarse  dark  hair  mixed 
with  gray.  His  eyes  were  black  and  very 
piercing  in  their  gaze,  which  was  stern  and 
critical.  He  slightly  curved  his  upper  lip 

64 


A  Strange   Flaw 

when  speaking,  so  as  to  show  his  teeth.  He 
was  by  nature  plain,  blunt  and  sarcastic. 
Spurning  anything  like  hypocrisy  he  loved  to 
unmask  a  hypocrite  and  lash  his  naked  ugli- 
ness. He  possessed  much  intellectual  abil- 
ity, legal  learning,  and  a  high  moral  char- 
acter, but  had  not  been  very  successful  at 
the  bar.  He  scorned  to  smile  and  play  the 
hypocrite.  He  lacked  the  ability  to  slime 
a  fool  over  with  flattery  and  then  swallow 
him.  Thus  it  is  in  law.  Smiling  hypocrisy 
often  sits  enthroned  upon  the  bench,  while 
honor  pleads  in  vain  for  justice  at  the  bar. 

"Is  this  Mr.  Foghorn?"  asked  Bragg,  ad- 
dressing the  occupant  of  the  desk. 

"What  do  you  want?"  answered  Fog- 
horn. 

"When  you  have  leisure,  I  wish  to  talk 
with  you." 

"Tell  me  what  you  want  and  I  will  tell 
you  whether  you  can  talk  to  me  about  it  or 
not,"  was  the  curt  reply  of  Foghorn. 

Bragg  was  a  little  astonished  to  find  such 
dignity  and  importance  in  a  man  so  poorly 
surrounded  and  was  somewhat  disconcerted 
at  this  blunt  reply,  but  soon  rallied  again. 

"I  am  the  President  of  the  Sound  and  Re- 

65 


A  Strange  Flaw 

liable  Railroad  Company,"  said  he  some- 
what pompously. 

"Where  is  that  road?"  asked  Foghorn. 

"It  is  not  built  yet,  but  I  will  show  you 
where  we  are  going  to  build  it,"  said  Bragg, 
as  he  pulled  a  map  out  of  his  pocket  and  be- 
gan to  open  it. 

"You  are  president  of  this  paper  railroad. 
What  do  you  want  of  me?"  demanded  Fog- 
horn. 

"I  want  you  to  assist  me  in  building  it," 
replied  Bragg  in  most  polite  and  persuasive 
tones. 

"I'm  not  a  railroad  builder.  This  is  a 
law  office,"  responded  Foghorn. 

"You  don't  understand  me.  I  want  you 
to  use  your  influence  with  the  people  to  get 
them  to  take  stock  and  aid  in  building  the 
road.  I  am  willing  to  pay  for  it,"  said  Bragg. 

"I  don't  sell  any  influence.  Good  day, 
sir,"  answered  Foghorn  abruptly  and  began 
writing. 

Bragg  could  say  no  more.  He  had  struck 
a  solid  wall  of  honor  and  could  go  no  further. 
He  hesitated  a  moment,  then  arose  and  left, 
very  much  chagrined. 

66 


A  Strange  Flaw 

As  he  passed  up  the  street  he  noticed  a 
fine  brick  building  on  the  corner  of  a  block 
with  an  ornamental  stone  front,  in  which 
was  chiseled  over  the  arched  doorway  the 
word  "Bank,"  and  farther  up  the  street  in 
the  same  building  there  was  an  ornamental 
side  door,  by  which  there  hung  a  finely  flour- 
ished gilt  sign  with  the  words,  "Timothy 
Bronze,  banker,  lawyer  and  broker.  Money 
to  loan." 

"Here  is  the  place  to  start,"  soliloquized 
Bragg.  "What  an  ass  I  was  to  go  to  a  poor 
man's  office,  and  especially  an  old  one,  to 
help  me  carry  out  my  scheme.  Aged  men 
who  possess  intelligence  and  are  poor,  are 
generally  honest.  Such  men  are  of  no  use 
to  me.  That  shaving  machine,  called  a 
bank,  sits  there  in  a  public  place  like  a  spi- 
der's web,  ready  to  catch  those  who  may 
saunter  in  attracted  by  its  fine  front  and  dis- 
play of  mahogany  counters;  and  this  Tim- 
othy Bronze  sitting  in  his  private  office,  like 
the  spider  behind  the  web,  comes  out  and 
fleeces  these  foolish  human  flies  when  they 
are  once  caught.  I'll  call  on  him." 

After  walking  up  four  short  steps,  Bragg 
was  in  the  presence  of  Timothy  Bronze, 

6? 


A  Strange  Flaw 

who  as  soon  as  he  saw  this  prosperous  look- 
ing individual  entering,  jumped  up  and 
grasped  him  by  the  hand,  at  the  same  time 
offering  him  a  seat  in  a  cushioned  rocker,  ap- 
parently very  much  delighted  to  see  him. 

Timothy  Bronze  was  a  very  loosely  made, 
awkward  and  ungainly  creature,  and  had  the 
appearance  of  a  being  that  nature  had  orig- 
inally started  for  an  idiot,  but  changed  her 
mind  when  the  job  was  only  half  completed. 
He  had  red  hair,  expressionless  blue  eyes  and 
a  freckled  face.  His  mouth  was  set  in  slant- 
wise, one  corner  extending  about  an  inch 
farther  down  on  his  chin  than  the  other  and 
his  lips  were  as  colorless  and  destitute  of 
expression  as  a  slit  in  a  piece  of  leather,  and 
moved  when  he  talked  as  if  they  were  hung 
on  rubber  hinges.  His  spinal  column  was 
nearly  straight  and  his  stomach  and  viscera 
hung  as  loosely  upon  it  as  a  sack  of  waste 
paper.  His  legs  were  loosely  jointed  and 
turned  up  at  the  bottom  with  feet  that  spread 
out  like  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  Yet 
notwithstanding  his  ridiculous  features,  there 
was  something  in  his  appearance  that  indicat- 
ed that  he  had  more  mental  ability  than  na- 
ture ordinarily  gives  her  children.  He  was 

68 


A  Strange  Flaw 

capable  of  the  most  outrageous  blunders  and 
the  most  remarkable  inventions.  At  one  time 
his  eyes  would  stream  with  tears  of  pity  for 
the  poor  and  oppressed,  at  another  he  would 
take  from  the  poor  man  his  last  shilling  and 
smile  with  infernal  glee  as  he  slid  out  of  his 
clutches  naked  into  the  world.  He  was  such 
a  complete  mixture  of  vice  and  virtue,  piety 
and  profanity,  wisdom  and  folly,  that  it  was 
difficult  to  tell  which  predominatec1 

A  bland  smile  lit  up  Timothy's  irregular 
features  as  he  expressed  his  great  pleasure 
in  meeting  Bragg. 

"Where  have  I  met  you  before,  Mr. 
Bragg;  were  you  not  in  attendance  at  the  last 
political  convention?" 

"No,  I  think  not,"  said  Bragg.  "I  was 
then  making  a  tour  of  the  United  States." 

"You  look  so  much  like  an  acquaintance  of 
mine  that  it  seems  as  if  we  were  old  friends." 

"I  am  president  of  the  Sound  and  Relia- 
ble Railroad  Company  of  New  York  City, 
and  I  came  to  get  you  to  help  me,"  said 
Bragg. 

"I  will  be  only  too  glad  to  render  you  any 
assistance  in  my  power.  But  come,  let's  go 

69 


A  Strange   Flaw 

and  take  something,"  said  Bronze,  his  coun- 
tenance beaming  with  good  nature. 

"Agreed,"  said  Bragg.  Whereupon 
Bronze  having  adjusted  an  old  slouch  hat 
on  the  back  of  his  head,  escorted  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Sound  and  Reliable  Railroad  to 
a  nearby  saloon,  where  they  sat  down  at  a 
table.  Bragg  had  found  a  congenial  spirit 
in  Bronze,  and  when  they  both  had  become 
sufficiently  animated  with  liquor  to  be  fluent 
there  was  practically  no  limit  to  the  soft  soap 
with  which  they  lathered  each  other. 

Bronze  began : 

"It  must  be  very  annoying  to  you,  Mr. 
Bragg,  to  leave  your  palatial  home  in  the 
great  city  and  submit  to  the  poor  entertain- 
ment of  such  a  little  village  as  this." 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Bragg,  "I  have  grown 
tired  of  luxury  and  splendor  and  I  greatly 
enjoy  your  beautiful  place.  I  must  say  I 
did  not  hope  to  meet  such  very  pleasant 
and  intelligent  people  here.  Have  you  been 
West  long,  Mr.  Bronze?" 

"But  a  few  years,"  replied  Bronze,  "but 
long  enough  to  appreciate  the  society  of  a 
true  gentleman  from  the  East.  Oh,  I  am  so 

70 


A  Strange  Flaw 

glad  I  met  you,  Mr.  Bragg.  Let's  have  an- 
other drink." 

After  drinking  Bronze  continued: 

"If  I  had  a  place  fit  to  entertain  you  I 
would  urge  you  while  you  remain  here,  to 
make  your  home  at  my  house.  My  wife  is 
intensely  fond  of  the  society  of  distinguished 
men.  She  would  be  very  glad  to  meet  you." 

"I  would  be  only  too  happy  to  meet  Mrs. 
Bronze,"  said  Bragg.  "Men  of  intelligence 
know  how  to  select  admirable  women.  Have 
you  any  children,  Mr.  Bronze?" 

"I  have  a  blooming  daughter  of  sixteen 
who  would  be  very  happy  to  see  you.  She 
worships  heroes,"  said  Bronze  proudly. 
Bragg  saw  he  had  touched  a  tender  spot  and 
continued : 

"Then  you  have  but  one.  Isn't  it  strange, 
Mr.  Bronze,  that  while  fools  breed  so  rapid- 
ly, men  of  genius  rarely  have  more  than  one 
or  two  children?" 

"Stranger  yet,"  said  Bronze,  "that  men 
of  the  rarest  intelligence  never  marry.  I 
think  you  said  you  were  unmarried,  Mr. 
Bragg?" 

"I  fear  I  should  not  long  remain  so," 
said  Bragg,  "were  I  to  be  thrown  into  the 


A  Strange   Flaw 

society  of  your  daughter,  if  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  judge  of  her  beauty  and  intelligence 
from  her  father." 

This  last  was  too  much  for  Bronze.  To 
have  it  insinuated  that  he  was  beautiful 
moved  him  deeply,  and  he  leered  at  Bragg 
as  he  said  in  a  somewhat  doubtful  tone: 
"Mr.  Bragg,  I  fear  you  flatter  me.  It  is  so 
natural  for  great  men  to  overestimate  their 
friends.  They  imagine  in  others  the  qual- 
ities which  they  possess  themselves." 

And  so,  like  suckers  feeding  upon  each 
other's  blubber,  they  continued  until  the  ring- 
ing of  the  bell  called  Bragg  to  the  hotel  and 
Bronze  to  his  home. 

Bragg  saw  that  he  had  found  in  Bronze 
a  tool  fashioned  to  his  purpose,  and  conclud- 
ed to  engage  him  to  assist  in  pushing  for- 
ward the  railroad  enterprise,  and  after  he 
had  eaten  he  went  again  to  Bronze's  office 
and  laid  the  whole  scheme  before  him,  as  it 
had  been  concocted  by  Duncan.  Bronze 
eagerly  embraced  the  opportunity  to  help 
carry  it  out. 

"How  can  we  best  get  the  people  to  grade, 
bridge  and  tie  the  road  through  this  local- 
ity?" asked  Bragg. 

72 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"People,  like  cattle,  go  in  droves,"  said 
Bronze.  "Salt  the  leaders  and  they  all  fol- 
low. If  we  can  get  George  W.  Lyer,  editor 
of  the  Littletown  "Fountain  of  Truth"  and 
Elder  Goodman  and  a  few  others,  the  rest 
will  follow." 

"It  will  be  hard  to  get  Mr.  Lyer,  I  fear," 
said  Bragg 

"No  trouble  at  all,"  replied  Bronze.  "He 
has  no  shame  nor  conscience.  Just  subsidize 
him,  give  him  a  share  In  the  steal." 

"I  believe  you  spoke  of  a  minister — Good- 
man, I  think  you  said.  Can  we  reach  him 
easily?"  said  Bragg. 

"Easy  enough.  Tell  him  the  patronage 
of  your  railroad  will  be  used  in  the  interest 
of  his  political  party.  He  is  insane  on  that 
subject.  He  has  converted  the  Church  of 
God  into  an  adder's  nest  to  do  homage  to 
political  vipers.  He  has  debased  the  cause 
of  temperance  into  a  hobby  horse  to  carry 
sots  into  office.  He  has  swallowed,  unassort- 
ed and  unmasticated,  every  doctrine  put  forth 
by  his  party,  and  has  found  Scripture  to  jus- 
tify every  robbery  its  leaders  have  commit- 
ted. Tf  you  want  a  man  to  forge  the  name 

73    ' 


A  Strange  Flaw 

of  Jesus  Christ  to  documents  fetid  with  fraud 
and  rank  with  iniquity,  call  on  him." 

"So  you  think  these  can  be  easily  secured. 
Do  you  know  of  anyone  in  the  community 
who  would  be  likely  to  work  against  us  and 
give  us  trouble?"  queried  Bragg. 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Bronze,  "there  is  an  aris- 
tocratic old  Englishman  who  keeps  a  store 
over  there,  he  will  be  almost  certain  to  work 
against  us.  He  always  denounces  everything 
that  anyone  else  originates." 

"Is  there  any  way  I  can  reach  him?"  ques- 
tioned Bragg. 

Bronze  studied  a  moment,  then  finally 
looked  up  with  a  gleeful  smile  on  his  face. 
"Yes,  he  has  one  soft  side.  It's  a  peculiar 
one.  He  has  a  very  pretty  daughter  who 
he  is  very  anxious  to  marry  to  some  person  of 
distinction.  If  you  appear  to  take  a  great 
fancy  to  her  you  would  have  him  with  you. 
It's  the  only  way  I  know  of.  If  you  don't 
make  friends  with  him  and  his  family  from 
the  first  he  will  surely  balk." 

"Then,"  said  Bragg,  "I'll  make  it  my  first 
duty  to  see  this  Englishman  and  his  pretty 
daughter." 

So  they  talked  on  until  the  middle  of  the 

74 


A  Strange  Flaw 

afternoon  and  then  Bronze  took  Bragg  over 
to  Jinks'  store  and  introduced  him  to  Oliver 
Cromwell  as  the  great  railroad  king  from  the 
East,  of  immense  wealth  and  distinction. 
He  said  to  Oliver:  "Mr.  Jinks,  I  told  my 
friend,  the  Honorable  Henderson  Bragg, 
that  he  must  make  haste  to  get  acquainted 
with  the  best  people  of  our  village  and  es- 
pecially did  I  desire  him  to  meet  you,  your 
estimable  wife,  and  lovely  daughter." 

Mr.  Bragg  smiled  loftily  and  said  that  he 
was  very  happy  to  be  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Jinks,  and  hoped  that  he  might  soon  have 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  his  very  excellent 
lady  and  beautiful  daughter;  but  as  he  had 
an  appointment  within  the  hour  they  would 
be  kind  enough  to  excuse  him  and  he  would 
see  them  again  a  little  later.  Mr.  Jinks  re- 
monstrated against  his  going  so  soon,  and 
insisted  that  he  was  urgent  in  his  request  that 
he  remain  and  chat  a  while.  Whereupon 
Bronze  rejoined: 

"After  business  hours  will  be  time  enough. 
Mr.  Bragg  is  at  present  in  my  custody.  I 
intended  to  have  him  sup  with  me  to-night, 
but  if  you  insist  upon  it  I  will  release  him 

75 


A  Strange  Flaw 

from  this  engagement  and  let  him  go  to  tea 
with  you." 

"I  shall  most  certainly  insist  upon  it," 
said  Jinks. 

The  arrangements  were  then  made,  and 
Bragg  and  Bronze  left  the  store  and  went 
to  the  office  of  the  "Fountain  of  Truth." 
The  "Fountain  of  Truth"  was  edited  by  A. 
Lyer  and  George  Washington  Lyer.  They 
were  twins.  The  first  was  a  very  lean,  slen- 
der and  dark  complexioned  individual.  The 
second  was  fat,  stout  and  robust  and  of  a 
light  complexion.  The  former  was  a  Pres- 
byterian, the  latter  a  Universalist.  The  lean 
one  was  a  Prohibitionist,  the  fat  one  in  favor 
of  license.  The  lean  man  did  the  collecting, 
and  the  fat  man  the  entertaining.  They 
wrote  with  different  pens.  What  one  praised 
the  other  blamed.  What  the  first  loved,  the 
second  hated.  They  were  never  unanimous 
unless  they  were  bribed,  and  not  always  then, 
for  sometimes  they  were  hired  on  opposite 
sides.  Thus  we  see  that  the  "Fountain  of 
Truth"  was  a  double-barreled  weapon. 
It  carried  both  fire  and  water,  oil  and  resin, 
vinegar  and  honey.  It  might  be  used  equal- 
ly well  as  a  fire  kindler  or  fire  extinguisher, 

76 


A  Strange  Flaw 

a  lubricator  or  a  brake,  a  cathartic  or  an 
emetic,  or  it  might  be  used  for  both  at  the 
same  time.  Being  able  to  take  both  sides  of 
every  question,  it  was  always  right  and  al- 
ways wrong;  unless  its  editors  were  both 
hired  upon  one  side. 

When  Bragg  and  Bronze  arrived  at  the 
office,  they  found  George  Washington  Lyer 
at  his  desk  writing  an  editorial  on  the  "Mar- 
tyrs for  Truth,"  and  A.  Lyer  composing  a 
scandal  on  a  female  missionary.  After  be- 
ing introduced,  Bragg  stated  that  he  wished 
to  employ  the  "Fountain  of  Truth"  to  flow  a 
little  in  favor  of  the  Sound  and  Reliable 
Railroad  Company. 

"All  right,  all  right,"  said  G.  W.  Lyer. 
"The  'Fountain  of  Truth'  is  at  your  service, 
sir.  Indicate  what  you  want.  We  are 
authors  of  all  kinds  of  truth.  We  can  make 
truth  on  any  subject.  Will  you  see  a  sample, 
sir?  Here  is  a  treatise  on  the  relation  be- 
tween intemperance  and  seed  corn,  wherein 
I  prove  that  the  vital  principle  of  seed  corn 
is  alcohol,  and  that  man  could  not  live  an 
hour  without  it,  and  that  prohibition  would 
be  such  an  insult  to  God  Almighty  that  He 
would  abolish  alcohol  and  kill  us  all.  My 

77 


A  Strange  Flaw 

brother  has  just  finished  a  very  able  editorial 
showing  that  over-production  produces  pov- 
erty and  hard  times.  We  can  write  anything 
you  want,  sir,  anything.  But  we  must  have 
pay,  sir.  We  can't  run  the  'Fountain  of 
Truth'  for  nothing.  If  you  want  me  to  write 
an  editorial  proving  you  to  be  a  saint  and  a 
martyr  and  your  company  to  be  men  who 
give  away  fortunes  for  recreation,  shell  out 
and  the  'Fountain  of  Truth'  shall  so  spout; 
if  not,  sir,  the  'Fountain  of  Truth'  will  show 
you  to  be  an  impostor,  a  fraud  and  a  cheat, 
and  your  company  a  band  of  thieves  organ- 
ized for  robbery.  The  'Fountain  of  Truth' 
never  remains  silent,  sir.  It  is  never  dry. 
It  always  spouts  either  gall  or  honey,  either 
oil  or  glue." 

Bragg  offered  to  pay  him  in  stock  at  the 
rate  of  a  dollar  a  line.  To  this  the  worthy 
editor  responded : 

"The  'Fountain  of  Truth'  is  not  fed  on 
chaff.  Its  editors  are  not  asses.  They  can't 
be  bought  by  stock  in  a  paper  railroad.  We 
must  have  a  share,  sir,  of  any  tax  which  we 
help  to  get  voted." 

At  length  they  were  able  to  agree  and  the 

78 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"Fountain  of  Truth"  was  engaged  to  advo- 
cate the  scheme. 

This  accomplished,  the  Hon.  Henderson 
Bragg,  President  of  the  Sound  and  Reliable 
Railroad  Company,  repaired  to  the  hotel  to 
arrange  his  toilet  for  the  tea  at  the  Jinks 
cottage. 


79 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  CLOUD 

We  left  Jennie  and  Harry  standing  in  the 
rosy  light  of  the  dawn  of  first  love,  dream- 
ing they  had  discovered  an  ocean  of  bliss  out 
of  which  they  might  forever  drink.  Their 
thoughts,  their  hopes  and  their  desires  so 
sweetly  blended  that  had  no  other  hand 
played  discord  their  lives  had  passed  like  a 
joyous  melody.  The  future  seemed  to  smile 
and  promise  heaven.  Grief  gaped  behind 
that  smile. 

When  Mrs.  Jinks  learned  that  her  daugh- 
ter loved  Harry,  she  burst  into  a  towering 
passion  and  swore  by  the  blood  of  her  an- 
cestry that  their  associations  should  immedi- 
ately cease.  She  forbade  her  seeing  or  speak- 
ing to  Harry  again,  threatening  to  disin- 
herit and  turn  her  out  of  doors  if  she  dis- 
obeyed, and  in  order  that  they  might  not 
meet  each  other  she  had  Jennie  cease  clerk- 
ing in  the  store.  This  had  the  usual  result. 

80 


A  Strange   Flaw 

If  you  want  to  weld  young  lovers  together, 
strive  to  wedge  them  apart.  By  means  of 
this  foolish  course,  many  attachments, 
ephemeral  in  their  character,  that  might  oth- 
erwise have  been  dissolved  in  a  short  time, 
have  been  strengthened  into  bonds  unsever- 
able. 

Jennie  pleaded  with  her  mother  in  tears 
and  sobs,  kissed  her  and  asked  her  so  kindly 
to  just  permit  her  to  see  Harry  once  a  week, 
or  once  a  month,  just  for  a  little  while,  and 
begged  her  to  alter  her  stern  decree,  but  she 
firmly  refused.  Then  the  tears  disappeared 
and  Jennie's  pretty  eyes  snapped  as  she  bit 
her  lip  and  clenched  her  little  hand  and  said, 
"You  may  be  cruel  enough  to  keep  me  from 
seeing  Harry,  but  you  can't  keep  me  from 
loving  him." 

After  the  meeting  in  the  store,  which  we 
have  described,  and  before  Jennie's  mother 
learned  of  her  daughter's  love,  she  and  Har- 
ry had  passed  many  a  happy  hour  together. 
At  the  store,  while  Mr.  Jinks  was  absent, 
love  found  many  an  opportunity,  and  after 
his  return  and  Jennie  had  started  home,  Har- 
ry would  overtake  her  and  they  would  stray 

Si 


A  Strange   Flaw 

from  the  direct  path  to  the  lake,  and  arm  in 
arm  stroll  along  its  sandy  beach. 

There  grew  a  tall  elm  upon  the  little  point 
of  land  extending  out  into  the  lake.  Under 
this  they  often  sat  during  the  beautiful  aft- 
ernoons of  the  bright  spring  days,  and 
drank  those  draughts  of  bliss  which  words 
cannot  describe  and  none  but  lovers  ever 
knows. 

But  one  day  Harry  came  to  town  at  noon 
and  Jennie  was  not  at  the  store.  After  much 
hesitation  he  found  courage  to  inquire  of  the 
young  man  he  found  there  about  her,  and 
he  said  she  would  not  work  there  in  the  fut- 
ure. 

He  was  greatly  disappointed  and  thought 
of  going  to  her  house  to  see  her,  but  on  going 
to  the  postoffice,  he  found  the  following  let- 
ter: 

"DEAR  HARRY: — 

"Mother  knows  that  I  love  you.  She  Is 
very  angry,  and  says  I  shall  never  speak  to 
you  again.  It  is  so  cruel  of  her  to  part  us; 
but  she  is  my  mother  and  maybe  I  ought  to 
obey  her,  but  I  cannot.  I  was  looking  at  the 
lovely  sunset  last  night  from  my  window  and 

82 


A   Strange   Flaw 

thinking  of  you.  It  seemed  as  if  God  was 
very  near,  the  heavens  were  so  beautiful.  I 
prayed  to  Him  for  you,  dear  Harry,  and 
asked  Him  to  guide  us  aright  and  tell  me 
what  to  do,  and  He  seemed  to  whisper  to 
my  soul  the  answer,  'Stand  by  your  love 
whatever  comes,'  and  I  shall.  You  cannot 
meet  me  at  the  store  as  you  used  to  in  the 
happy  past,  nor  come  to  the  house  to  see 
me,  but  when  the  clear  moonlight  evenings 
come,  I  will  meet  you  by  the  tall  elm  that 
grows  by  the  lake  shore  at  the  end  of  the 
path  where  we  have  had  so  many  happy 
times  together.  I  often  go  down  there  and 
sit  in  the  evening  and  look  out  on  the  peace- 
ful lake  and  up  to  the  quiet  sky,  and  think  of 
the  joyous  hours  we  have  spent  together  and 
of  the  happy  day  when  we  shall  part  no 
more.  I  will  meet  you  there,  dear  Harry, 
every  evening  that  I  can.  Oh,  I  long  to  see 
you  so. 

"Goodbye,   dear, 

"YOUR  JENNIE." 

This  little  missive  chilled  Harry  with  dis- 
appointment. He  had  so  longed  and  waited 
to  go  to  town,  and  had  counted  every  minute 

83 


A  Strange  Flaw 

as  it  passed  to  bring  the  hour  when  he  could 
see  her,  and  now  to  find  that  he  must  wait 
for  a  clear,  moonlight  evening,  which  might 
not  occur  for  a  week,  made  him  feel  sore  and 
sick  at  heart.  Several  afternoons  after  that 
he  came  to  town  expecting  to  see  Jennie,  but 
just  after  sunset  it  clouded  up  and  rained  and 
he  had  to  go  home  disappointed  in  the  wet 
and  darkness. 

Jennie  also  watched  and  waited  for  a  clear, 
beautiful  evening,  and  when  the  clouds  would 
bank  up  and  it  would  rain  the  very  drops 
seemed  to  fall  upon  her  heart. 

At  last,  after  a  very  wet  day,  along  in  the 
afternoon,  the  clouds  cleared  away  and  the 
air  was  cool  and  balmy.  The  moon  was  then 
almost  full  and  Jennie  was  sitting  on  the 
back  porch  late  in  the  afternoon,  watching 
its  pale  face  barely  visible  through  the  leafy 
trees,  and  thinking  that  Harry  would  surely 
be  in  that  night,  and  she  would  meet  him 
down  by  the  lake,  when  her  mother  opened 
the  door  and  said: 

"Jennie,  father  has  just  been  up  and  says 
that  the  president  of  some  great  railroad  is 
in  town  and  will  be  here  to  tea  this  evening. 
He  is  immensely  wealthy,  and  father  says  he 

84 


A   Strange   Flaw 

is  not  married.  Go  and  dress  up;  I  want 
you  to  look  your  prettiest  when  he  comes. 
He  might  take  a  fancy  to  you;  who  knows? 
Then  you  would  be  ashamed  of  your  foolish 
passion  for  that  country  gawk." 

"Don't  talk  so,  mother;  Harry  is  a  good 
boy.  Everybody  likes  him. 

"But  he  is  such  a  cheap,  low-bred  article 
that  I  can't  and  won't  endure  him,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Jinks.  "To-night  is  your  opportunity; 
Mr.  Bragg  is  a  great  railroad  king;  think 
of  it !  Who  knows  but  he  might  take  a  fancy 
to  you!  How  everybody  would  envy  us. 
Daughter,  you  must  do  your  best." 

"I  shall  treat  him  with  civility.  No  honest 
maiden  could  do  more,  whatever  she  might 
wish." 

"Honesty !"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Jinks.  "Why 
prate  so  much  of  honesty?  You  need  not  be 
dishonest  or  immodest.  Be  not  too  coy,  nor 
seem  too  fond  or  yielding.  Drink  in  his 
words  as  young  birds  swallow  food,  and 
make  him  think  you  deem  them  oracles. 
Ogle  and  sigh  and  stare  with  melting  gaze. 
Speak  with  pursed  lips  and  so  recline  that 
he  may  see  your  rounded  bosom  swell  and 
sink  and  note  the  gentle  outlines  of  your 

85 


A  Strange  Flaw 

form.  From  this  he  will  conclude  your  heart 
is  his  and  that  you  glow  with  feverish  pas- 
sion, and  thus  his  fertile  fancy  will  set  him 
wild.  Such  acts  as  these  make  poets  rave, 
bring  emperors  to  the  feet  of  peasant  girls 
and  cause  the  gray  philosopher  to  kneel  and 
beg  for  love." 

"I  could  not,  even  if  I  did  not  love  an- 
other; but  loving  Harry  so,  I  cannot  even 
try,"  said  Jennie,  as  she  arose  to  leave  the 
room. 

When  Jennie  had  entered  her  own  room, 
she  closed  the  door  and  sat  down,  feeling 
very  sad.  "Oh,  what  ugly  luck  is  this,"  she 
said.  "Why  could  not  this  man  have  come 
some  other  evening?  I  have  watched  and 
waited  for  a  clear  night  to  meet  Harry,  when 
I  could  get  away  without  being  noticed  or 
suspected,  and  night  after  night  have  been 
disappointed  'til  my  heart  is  sore  with  wait- 
ing, and  now,  to-night,  which  will  be  the 
first  bright,  clear  evening  since  I  wrote  to 
Harry,  this  man  had  to  be  invited  here  to 
supper,  and  I  must  stay  and  entertain  him. 
Oh,  how  disappointed  Harry  will  be;  he'll 
wonder  why  I  did  not  come,  and  maybe  he 
will  think  I'm  sick,  or  think  that  I  have  for- 

86. 


A   Strange   Flaw 

saken  him  and  never  come  again !  Oh,  dear, 
dear,  dear,  my  heart  is  breaking,"  and  she 
burst  into  tears. 

After  crying  a  while  she  felt  relieved, 
arose  and  dressed  herself  for  tea.  And  when 
it  was  announced  that  Bragg  had  arrived  she 
went  down  to  see  him.  She  did  not  feel  like 
entertaining  anyone;  in  fact,  she  hated  him 
for  coming  up  that  evening.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  when  Bragg  arrived  at 
the  Jinks  cottage,  ostensibly  to  take  tea  with 
the  family,  but  in  reality  to  court  Jennie 
Jinks  in  the  interest  of  the  Sound  and  Re- 
liable Railroad  scheme.  It  had  been  many  a 
year  since  he  had  attempted  to  court  the  fair, 
except  to  ask  for  food  or  raiment,  and  his 
success  then  had  not  been  of  the  best,  for 
they  usually  slammed  the  door  in  his  face  or 
gave  him  scraps  and  crusts  that  were  hardly 
fit  to  eat,  with  instructions  to  take  them  and 
go.  He  had  studied  how  to  speak  with  a 
smile  and  to  beg  in  gentle  tones,  but  no  gen- 
tility can  excuse  poverty  and  rags.  But  now 
he  was  well  dressed,  and  instead  of  appear- 
ing as  a  beggar,  came  as  the  president  of  a 
railroad  company.  When  Mr.  Jinks  intro- 

87 


A  Strange  Flaw 

duced  Jennie  he  took  her  by  the  hand  and 
said: 

"Mr.  Jinks,  I  have  heard  very  much 
spoken  in  praise  of  the  beauty  of  your  daugh- 
ter, but  she  surpasses  my  highest  expecta- 
tions. You  will  excuse  me,  Miss  Jinks,  for 
this  very  blunt  compliment,  but  I  was  so  as- 
tonished that  I  could  not  help  it." 

"I  do  not  enjoy  flattery,  Mr.  Bragg,"  said 
Jennie  blushingly. 

"In  that  we  agree,"  said  Bragg,  "for  I 
despise  it,  too;  but  truth  is  not  flattery.  Be- 
sides, I  could  not  flatter  you ;  you  are  beyond 
my  power  to  praise,  much  less  to  flatter." 

Tea  was  soon  ready  and,  while  at  the  table, 
Bragg  improved  every  opportunity  to  show 
courtesy  to  Jennie.  He  spoke  so  pleasantly 
of  everything,  and  was  so  merry  and  happy 
in  his  demeanor,  that  his  presence  really  pro- 
duced an  atmosphere  of  joyousness.  Supper 
over  they  repaired  to  the  parlor.  When  all 
were  seated  Bragg  said: 

"We  have  just  enjoyed  a  physical  feast; 
now  let  us  feast  our  souls  with  melody.  Miss 
Jinks,  I  have  heard  very  much  of  your  skill 
in  music;  will  you  not  favor  us  with  a  song?" 
She  hesitated  and  he  continued:  "Oh,  please 


A  Strange   Flaw 

do;  it  will  make  me  so  happy."  After  stat- 
ing that  she  could  not  sing,  she  took  her 
place  at  the  piano  and  sang  in  a  very  sweet, 
clear,  melting  and  expressive  voice,  the  song 
entitled,  "Will  You  Love  Me  When  I'm 
Old?"  Bragg  immediately  threw  himself 
into  harmony  with  the  tune  and  listened  with 
rapt  attention.  She  became  deeper  and 
deeper  absorbed  with  the  spirit  of  the  piece 
as  she  proceeded,  and  when  she  had  reached 
the  chorus  to  the  last  verse  her  voice  became 
low  and  sad,  almost  painfully  sweet,  and  she 
seemed  to  pour  her  whole  soul  out  in  music 
with  the  words: 

"Life's  morn  will  soon  be  waning, 
And  its  evening  bells  be  tolled; 

But  my  heart  will  know  no  sadness 
If  you'll  love  me  when  I'm  old." 

And  when  she  ceased  tears  stood  in 
Bragg's  eyes,  and  he  appeared  to  be  very 
much  moved.  Wiping  them,  he  said:  "I 
know  it  seems  very  foolish  in  a  man  to  weep, 
but  I  am  not  used  to  such  music.  Mr.  Jinks, 
your  daughter  sings  like  an  angel.  I  have 
heard  all  the  great  prima  donnas,  but  I  have 
never  heard  such  melody  before.  It  goes 

89 


A  Strange  Flaw 

right  to  the  heart  and  charms  the  soul  with 
rapture.  The  sweet  voice  of  your  daughter 
is  worth  more  than  all  the  mines  of  Colo- 
rado. I  know  you  love  her,  but  I  fear  you 
do  not  realize  what  a  treasure  you  possess. 
She  should  never  know  a  care  or  sorrow,  and 
never  be  permitted  to  mar  her  beauty  or  her 
voice  by  toil.  She  should  have  the  best  mu- 
sical training  that  the  world  can  afford.  She 
has  a  grand  future  before  her.  But  a  few 
years  hence,  and  the  whole  world  will  echo 
praises  of  her  beauty  and  her  melody.  I  im- 
agine now  I  sit  in  a  royal  theatre,  wherein 
gallery  rises  above  gallery,  and  box  above 
box,  until  the  sight  is  blurred  by  distance.  I 
see  every  available  space  packed  with  an 
eager,  admiring  throng  of  youth  and  age, 
beauty  and  nobility.  Every  seat  is  lined  with 
luxury;  every  wall  is  covered  with  loveliness. 
Its  velvet  stage  is  so  surrounded  with  paint- 
ings, so  hung  with  tapestry,  so  ornamented 
by  art  and  perfumed  by  flowers,  that  in  the 
mellow,  crimson  light  shed  by  a  thousand 
tinted  jets,  it  seems  to  the  ravished  senses  a 
paradise  of  glory.  Amid  this  loveliness 
there  stands  this  little  maid  who  sang  so 
sweetly  now  for  me.  Her  graceful  form  I 

90 


A   Strange   Flaw 

see,  arrayed  with  softest,  choicest  silks  and 
lace  sprinkled  with  the  richest  diamonds. 
Her  little  velvet  hands  and  arms  are  clasped 
with  costliest  jewelry.  Her  pretty  raven 
curls  are  studded  with  roses  and  sparkle  with 
precious  gems;  and  round  her  neck,  which 
rivals  in  hue  and  symmetry  the  water-lily, 
there  hangs  a  blazing  necklace,  glittering  like 
a  tiara  of  stars;  but  fairer  far  than  roses, 
silks  or  diamonds  are  her  lustrous  eyes,  her 
ruby  lips  as  she  throws  out  her  soul  in  heav- 
enly melody.  Her  audience  soars  upon  the 
wings  of  song  to  bliss.  Princes  become  en- 
raptured, bards  chant  praises  to  her  name, 
and  artists  to  paint  her  beauty  vainly  try.  All 
the  world  profusely  showers  its  love  upon 
her.  This  is  no  dream,  but  a  true  sketch  of 
what  music  and  beauty  have  done  for  many 
and  will  do  for  her." 

Bragg  spoke  with  great  earnestness  and 
apparent  sincerity.  His  words  chimed  so 
sweetly  with  the  chords  of  pride  and  vanity 
which  were  strung  so  highly  in  the  hearts  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jinks,  that  they  were  visibly 
affected,  and  Jennie's  blushing  face  and  tear- 
ful eyes  told  that  ambition  lurked  within  her 
breast. 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"What  do  you  think  of  that,  daughter?" 
interposed  Mrs.  Jinks,  as  Mr.  Bragg  had  fin- 
ished his  words  of  praise.  "I  always  told 
you  that  you  had  a  sweet  voice." 

"Sweet  singer,  won't  you  sing  again?" 
said  Bragg,  beseechingly.  "Select  some  soft, 
sweet,  sentimental  song  that  calls  up  mem- 
ories of  other  days,  of  moonlit  mossy  banks 
by  rippling  streams,  enchanted  groves,  where 
June's  first  blossoms  grow  and  fill  the  soft 
night  air  with  sweetest  perfume." 

Jennie  was  anxious  to  meet  Harry  and  was 
looking  for  an  excuse  to  get  away,  so  she 
replied:  "I  do  not  know  such  songs,  and  if 
I  did  I  am  too  weary  now  to  sing  them.  I 
beg  leave  to  retire." 

"Then,  I'll  excuse  the  song,"  said  Bragg. 
"But  do  not  leave  me."  The  sound  of  many 
voices,  swelling  in  a  chorus  of  song,  was 
wafted  on  the  night  breeze  from  a  church 
near  by.  Bragg  inquired  the  cause  and  was 
informed  that  the  Methodists  were  holding 
a  protracted  meeting  there.  He  asked  if 
any  of  the  Jinks  family  attended,  and  upon 
being  informed  that  they  often  did,  he  said: 
"I  am  very  fond  indeed  of  the  deep  and  holy 
joy  which  dwells  in  worshipping  congrega- 
92 


A  Strange   Flaw 

tions.  It  seems  to  fill  my  soul  with  new  life. 
I  should  very  much  like  to  go  over,  Miss 
Jinks,  if  you  will  be  so  good  and  kind  as  to 
go  with  me.  In  the  rapture  of  religious  love 
we  could  very  appropriately  finish  this  very 
pleasant  evening." 

"I'd  rather  be  excused,"  said  Jennie. 

"Why,  daughter,  the  hour's  not  late,"  pro- 
tested Mrs.  Jinks.  "Mr.  Bragg,  she  is  so 
diffident  and  unused  to  men.  I  fear  that  you 
must  urge  her." 

"I  would  not  for  the  mines  of  all  the  earth 
bring  to  that  lily  skin  one  rosy  blush,  were 
it  the  blush  of  shame,  but  blushing  modesty 
becomes  the  maiden's  face  as  crimson  tints 
adorn  the  dawn  of  day.  Miss  Jinks,  I  can- 
not quite  excuse  you,"  said  Bragg. 

"Our  daughter  will  not  refuse  our  hon- 
ored guest,"  said  Mr.  Jinks. 

"She'll  get  her  wraps  and  go.  Excuse  us 
for  a  moment,"  ejaculated  Mrs.  Jinks  firmly. 
Thus  commanded,  Jennie  was  forced  to  re- 
tire with  her  mother  to  get  ready,  and  in  a 
few  moments  afterwards  the  delighted  par- 
ents saw  their  daughter  walking  arm  in  arm 
with  Mr.  Bragg,  chatting  and  smiling  as  if 
she  had  not  known  a  care  or  sorrow.  She 

93 


A  Strange  Flaw 

told  him  of  her  secluded  life,  and  how  un- 
accustomed she  was  to  have  a  gentleman  ac- 
company her  to  church.  Bragg  then  said  in 
a  very  low  and  tender  tone:  "Child,  you 
know  but  little  of  the  wickedness  of  this 
world.  God  forbid  that  your  young  heart 
shall  ever  see  the  vice  and  crime  that  I  have 
seen,  and  the  temptations  I  have  undergone." 
This  touched  her  deeply,  for  nothing  tends 
more  to  make  a  woman  love  a  man  than  to 
think  that  he  has  passed  through,  terrible 
temptations  and  seen  a  great  amount  of  vice 
and  crime.  She  answered:  "Mr.  Bragg, 
the  story  of  your  life  must  indeed  be  a  very 
sad  and  interesting  one.  I  would  like  to 
listen  to  it  from  your  own  lips,  that  I  might 
sympathize  with  you  in  all  the  trials  and 
temptations  through  which  you  have  passed." 

Bragg  replied:  "To  have  the  sympathy 
of  such  a  sweet>  pure-hearted  girl,  would 
more  than  recompense  with  joy  for  all  the 
sufferings  of  the  past.  Some  day  I  will  re- 
late it  to  you,  dear  child;  you  will  then  un- 
derstand how  grateful  I  feel  to  God  for  his 
fostering  care." 

When  they  reached  the  church  the  meet- 
ing had  been  opened  and  the  fever  of  relig- 

94 


A   Strange   Flaw 

ious  excitement  was  high.  A  fat  Scotch 
washerwoman,  Mrs.  Dewey,  had  just  fin- 
ished pounding  out  a  prayer,  which  consisted 
principally  in  crying,  "Glory!  Glory!  Halle- 
lujah !"  and  clapping  her  hands  while  she 
stamped  her  feet.  She  was  apparently  insane 
with  joy,  and  however  ridiculous  her  conduct 
was,  one  could  not  help  feeling  happy  in  see- 
ing her  and  wondering  at  the  cause  of  so 
much  bliss.  When  Bragg  came  in,  Elder 
Goodman  stepped  .down  from  the  pulpit, 
went  to  him,  and  invited  him  to  come  and 
have  a  seat  there,  and  suggested  that  Jennie 
take  a  place  in  the  choir.  Mr.  Goodman 
then  stated  to  the  audience  that  they  were 
fortunate  in  having  with  them  a  dear  brother 
from  the  East,  the  Hon.  Henderson  Bragg, 
whom  they  would  be  glad  to  hear  from. 
Speaking  in  church  was  very  new  to  Bragg, 
but  as  Elder  Goodman  was  one  of  the  men 
Bronze  had  said  it  was  very  necessary  to  get 
to  aid  him,  he  determined  not  to  refuse.  His 
countenance  assumed  a  very  pious  aspect  as 
he  arose  and  said: 

"Dear  brothers  and  sisters:  I  am  very 
thankful  of  an  opportunity  to  testify  to  the 
goodness  and  mercy  of  God.  I  was  born 

95 


A  Strange   Flaw 

and  bred  of  godly  parents,  who  taught  me 
the  way  to  salvation.  Surrounded  by  wealth 
and  luxury,  I  fell  into  the  society  of  the  un- 
godly, and  might  have  died  in  sin,  but  for 
an  accident  that  arrested  my  mad  career.  I 
was  struck  with  a  slung-shot  and  picked  up 
for  dead." 

"Praise  God,"  shouted  some  mischievous 
boy  in  the  audience. 

"I  lay  in  a  state  of  unconsciousness  for 
three  days.  When  I  came  to  my  senses,  I 
found  myself  in  a  close  coffin,  buried  in  a 
grave.  I  cried  frantically  for  help,  and 
promised  God,  if  he  would  save  my  life,  I 
would  serve  him  the  rest  of  my  days.  It 
was  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  and  an  old 
man,  nearly  blind,  happened  to  lose  his  way 
home  and  wandered  into  the  graveyard.  He 
heard  my  cries  for  help  proceeding  out  of 
the  ground,  and  terrified  with  fear,  ap- 
proached the  spot  from  whence  the  sounds 
proceeded.  He  had  nothing  to  dig  with, 
and  I  would  have  died  of  suffocation  had  he 
not  accidentally  stumbled  over  a  spade  which 
the  sexton  had  forgotten  to  take  home  with 
him.  The  old  man  seized  the  spade  and  dug 
me  up  as  soon  as  the  feeble  tremblingness  of 

96 


A   Strange   Flaw 

age  would  permit.  Just  as  I  had  given  up 
to  die,  he  broke  open  the  lid  of  my  coffin 
and  let  in  the  pure  air  of  heaven.  So  I  was 
snatched  from  the  very  jaws  of  death  by  the 
mercy  and  goodness  of  the  loving  Father." 

He  was  often  interrupted  by  exclamations 
of  "Praise  God!"  "Glory  to  God!"  and 
the  like,  and  was  about  to  proceed  to  tell 
how  pure  and  holy  he  had  become  since  his 
burial,  when  Mrs.  Dewey  got  the  power  and 
arose  frantically  with  a  shout,  and  threw  her 
arms  around  his  neck  and  gave  him  a  hug 
more  affectionate  than  agreeable.  It  took 
the  combined  force  of  the  minister,  Bragg 
and  the  usher  to  remove  her;  and  when  re- 
moved she  raved  with  such  maniacal  frenzy 
that  Bragg  had  to  stop  speaking  when  he 
least  wanted  to.  While  the  audience  sang 
"Hold  the  Fort,"  the  minister  and  usher 
carried  her  out. 

After  the  singing,  Brother  Simpkins 
jumped  up  and  said: 

"Brothers  and  sisters,  we  'ear  in  the  'oly 
Scriptures  that  the  flesh  his  weak.  My  'art 
is  'evy.  I  must  confess  that  I  'ave  been  a 
little  too  hintimate  with  Sister  'Igginbottom." 
"Praise  God,"  shouted  Brother  Higginbot- 

97 


A  Strange  Flaw 

torn,  piously.  Then  Mrs.  Simpklns,  the  con- 
fessor's wife,  arose  and,  amid  sobs  and  tears, 
said  that  her  flesh  was  also  weak,  that  she 
must  confess  that  she  had  been  a  little  too 
intimate  with  Brother  Higginbottom.  Mr. 
Simpkins  was  the  only  one  that  seemed  sur- 
prised at  this  disclosure,  and  he  was  in  bad 
shape  to  complain.  Brother  and  Sister  Hig- 
ginbottom then  made  their  confessions,  and 
the  minister  and  usher  returned  and  the  serv- 
ices continued  as  usual. 

At  the  close  of  the  service  Bragg  took 
Jennie  home,  feeding  her  religious  nature,  on 
the  way,  with  stories  of  what  God  had  done 
for  him.  They  lingered  long  at  the  gate, 
and  he  told  her  that,  in  all  his  travels,  he 
had  never  met  a  girl  that  seemed  so  very 
near  to  him  as  she.  After  bidding  her  good- 
night very  tenderly  he  repaired  to  the  hotel 
and  she  to  bed — he  to  study  over  his  railroad 
scheme,  while  she  pondered  and  dreamed 
over  and  over  again  the  events  of  the  last 
few  hours,  and  built  bright  palaces  of  ex- 
pected joy  to  spring  from  her  acquaintance 
with  him.  Had  she  forgotten  Harry?  No; 
the  thoughts  of  him  haunted  her  like  a  spec- 
tre. She  asked  herself,  "Have  I  done 

98 


A   Strange  Flaw 

wrong?"  Ask  yourself,  gentle  reader,  had 
she? 

Could  any  one  so  situated  have  done  oth- 
erwise? Then,  let  us  not  condemn  her.  Let 
us,  rather,  condemn  the  criminal  idiocy  of 
her  parents  who  forced  her  into  this  posi- 
tion. 

After  praying  to  God  to  guide  her  aright 
Jennie  went  to  sleep.  She  dreamed  she  was 
talking  to  Bragg,  his  face  wore  such  a  sweet 
angelic  smile  as  he  told  her  how  rich  and 
happy  he  would  make  her,  and  what  he  would 
do  for  her  father  and  mother.  Then  she 
thought  he  happened  to  turn  his  back,  and 
then  she  beheld  a  horrid  face  which  glared 
upon  her  with  such  a  fiendish  grin  that  she 
screamed  and  awoke.  The  dream  troubled 
her  so  that  she  slept  no  more  that  night. 


99 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  VII 

JEALOUSY 

Harry  had  longed  and  waited  so  many 
days  for  a  clear  moonlight  evening  and  had 
come  to  Littletown  so  often  only  to  be  dis- 
appointed, that  when  he  awoke  in  the 
morning  on  the  day  of  which  we  have  writ- 
ten, and  found  the  sky  clouded  and  a  rain 
falling  so  gently  and  steadily  as  if  it  would 
continue  forever,  he  felt  very  sad;  but  when, 
in  the  afternoon,  he  saw  the  clouds  disappear 
before  a  cool  and  gentle  breeze,  the  burden 
was  lifted  from  him  and  hope  shone  again 
with  the  sun.  He  hurried  to  get  his  chores 
done  early,  dressed  in  his  best  and,  with  a 
light  heart,  went  to  town.  And  when  the 
last  rays  of  the  setting  sun  had  sparkled 
across  the  translucent  waters  of  the  silvery 
lake,  Harry  was  at  the  appointed  place,  eag- 
erly waiting  for  Jennie. 

At  first  he  waited  with  happy  anticipation, 
but  when  she  did  not  come  he  grew  impa- 

100 


A   Strange   Flaw 

tient;  his  anxiety  became  intense  and  painful. 
He  listened  for  her  footsteps;  until  his^rain 
ached  and  his  senses  swam,:  hoping  she  would 
come,  but  fearing  she  ^ojulci  iiiot;  i.;At  .last 
he  concluded  she  would  not  come.  Then  the 
keen  tooth  of  disappointment  began  to  gnaw 
at  his  breast.  A  thousand  wiry  devils  were 
tugging  at  his  heart  strings,  and  he  said: 

"Oh,  this  waiting,  waiting,  'til  the  heart 
is  sick  with  disappoinment !  It  seems  for 
every  moment's  bliss  I  have  an  hour  of  pain. 
Why  does  she  not  come?  Perhaps  she  is  ill. 
She  would  come  if  she  could.  'Tis  not  her 
fault.  Let  me  be  patient !" 

So  he  waited  until  hope  had  died,  and  in 
his  despair  he  slowly  wended  his  way  home- 
ward. He  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  going 
back  without  seeing  her,  so  he  loitered  slowly 
by  her  home,  and  looked  in  at  the  windows 
as  well  as  he  could  from  the  street.  He  did 
not  see  her.  Just  then  he  heard  music  at 
the  church.  They  were  singing  the  closing 
hymn.  He  thought,  "Possibly  she  is  there. 
I  will  go  over  and,  if  she  is,  will  come  home 
with  her.  I  may  see  her,  after  all." 

Then  hope  revived.  He  started  for  the 
church  and  arrived  as  they  were  having  the 

101 


A  Strange  Flaw 

benediction.  He  looked  in  at  the  door. 
There* -he  saw  her;.'.  Oh,  how  happy  he  was. 
But:  how  -fleeting1  his  joy.  He  heard  the 
?y^teiic3e:disraj^se4;'"saw;her  take  her  fan  and 
'boot;  saw  a  finely  dressed  gentleman  come 
up  and  speak  to  her  with  a  smile;  saw  her 
return  the  smile;  saw  her  proudly  introduce 
him  to  her  companions;  saw  her  take  his  arm 
and  go  out  with  him;  saw  them  walking  to- 
wards her  home  together;  heard  her  sweet 
voice  ring  out  as  they  chatted  in  low  accents; 
saw  them  linger  at  the  gate;  saw  him  bid 
her  good-night  and  go.  He  walked  a  few 
steps,  then  sat  down  on  the  sidewalk  and 
buried  his  face  in  his  hands  and  said  to  him- 
self: 

"Oh,  what  a  fool  am  I  to  give  my  heart  to 
a  girl  to  play  with !  How  implicitly  I  loved 
and  trusted  her.  Oh,  God,  I  never  dreamed 
of  this.  I  builded  all  my  hopes  upon  her 
heart  and  now  am  hopeless.  Oh,  how  con- 
fidingly I  pinned  my  faith  upon  her  promises 
to  meet  me  by  the  lake.  Where  are  they 
now?  Perhaps  she  loves  me  yet,  but  then 
she  will  not  love  me  long.  I  have  a  rival. 
He  is  rich,  I  am  poor;  he  is  educated,  I  am 
not;  her  parents  like  him,  but  hate  me.  My 

1 02 


A   Strange   Flaw 

suit  is  lost.  My  heart  is  heavy.  Oh,  had 
I  never  met  her.  Before  I  loved,  my  heart 
was  light;  I  knew  no  sorrow;  and  now  I 
hardly  have  a  peaceful  hour.  Oh,  love,  you 
are  the  road  to  grief.  By  smiles  and  prom- 
ises of  bliss  you  win  the  heart  to  torture  it. 
I'll  love  no  more.  This  flower  of  love  which 
grew  so  fresh  and  fair  has  grown  to  be  a 
briar  with  poison  thorns.  I'll  root  it  from 
my  heart.  Oh,  could  I  blot  its  memory  out." 

Thus  he  bubbled  out  in  words  the  raging 
tumult  in  his  breast,  and  by  his  resolution 
felt  relieved  and  started  home. 

To  those  who  enter  love  with  all  their 
souls,  it  is  a  dangerous  sea,  with  shoals  and 
whirlpools,  eddies,  hidden  rocks  and  break- 
ers wild,  which  chart  or  map  can  never  give; 
nor  pilot's  skill  avoid.  Love  and  jealousy 
are  twins.  One  fair  as  heaven,  the  other  foul 
as  hell.  They  live  united,  share  each  other's 
weakness  and  die  at  the  same  time.  Who 
feels  the  joys  of  one  must  know  the  other's 
pangs.  One  plucks  the  fruit,  the  other  guards 
the  tree. 

So  Harry  went  home,  resolving  to  bury 
his  love,  but  he  could  not.  The  next  day  he 
studied  the  matter  over,  and  finally,  late  in 

103 


A  Strange  Flaw 

the  afternoon,  concluded,  as  it  was  fair,  that 
he  would  go  to  Littletown  again,  and  if  he 
saw  Jennie,  perhaps  she  could  explain  it  all 
to  him.  He  would  go  once  more.  So,  time 
having  healed  his  wounds  to  some  extent, 
we  find  Harry  starting  about  sunset,  on  the 
same  road  he  had  trod  the  night  before,  but 
not  with  quite  the  same  ardor. 

When  Jennie  saw  the  sun  set  clear, 
that  evening,  she  thought  of  her  promise  to 
Harry,  and  was  determined  to  go  down  to 
the  lake  shore  to  meet  him.  The  events  of 
the  last  twenty-four  hours  had  somewhat  dis- 
tracted her  thoughts;  and  while  Bragg  and 
his  words  were  almost  constantly  in  her 
mind,  yet  she  loved  Harry,  and  was  deter- 
mined to  remain  true  to  him.  So,  as  the 
evening  advanced,  and  the  moon  came  out 
bright  and  full,  she  got  an  opportunity  to 
steal  away,  unobserved  by  her  parents,  and 
started.  Silently,  cautiously,  she  crept  down 
the  back  yard,  through  the  alley  in  the  shad- 
ows of  the  trees.  The  rustle  of  a  leaf  star- 
tled her.  Several  times  she  became  fright- 
ened by  the  barking  of  a  neighbor's  dog,  or 
the  sudden  flight  of  a  bird,  and  thought  of 
returning,  but  still  pressed  on.  Then  she 

104 


A  Strange   Flaw 

thought  if  Harry  shouldn't  be  there,  or  what 
if  some  one  should  see  them  together,  and 
mother  should  find  it  out.  What  would  she 
do?  But  when  the  thought  of  the  joy  of 
meeting  him  came  to  her  aid,  her  courage 
returned,  and  when  she  thought  she  saw  him 
sitting  under  the  old  elm,  waiting  for  her, 
every  fibre  of  her  being  was  wrought  up  with 
the  most  intense  desire  and  her  eyes  sparkled 
with  heavenly  joy  as  she  flew  toward  him  to 
embrace  him,  when,  to  her  great  surprise, 
she  saw  it  was  Bragg.  He  had  been  out  for 
an  evening  walk,  and  feeling  a  little  tired, 
had  sat  down  under  the  tree,  and  was  just 
drinking  in  the  loveliness  of  the  surround- 
ings, when  he  saw  Jennie  rush  up  to  him. 
Jennie  was  very  much  agitated  by  her  mis- 
take, feeling  her  conduct  had  divulged  her 
secret.  Bragg  saw  her  embarrassment  and 
said: 

"Good  evening,  Miss  Jinks;  you  mistook 
me  for  another." 

"Yes,  I  did,"  answered  Jennie.  "You 
look  very  much  like  father  in  the  moonlight, 
but  you  must  excuse  me.  I  must  go  back." 

"Allow  me  to  return  with  you,"  said 
Bragg,  offering  her  his  arm.  She  took  it 

105 


A  Strange  Flaw 

and  they  slowly  walked  up  the  lake  shore. 
"Oh,  am  I  not  fortunate  to  meet  you  so 
soon  again,  and  on  this  glorious  eve?"  said 
Bragg,  as  they  proceeded. 

"  'Twas  very  unexpected  on  my  part," 
said  Jennie,  "to  find  you  underneath  the  elm, 
where  I  have  spent  so  many  happy  hours, 
musing  in  solitude." 

"I  think  you  live  in  a  world  of  memory 
and  imagination,  Miss  Jinks,  do  you  not?" 

"Yes,  Mr.  Bragg,  I  love  dearly  to  recall 
the  past  and  imagine  the  future." 

"In  that  we  are  alike,"  he  said,  "for  my 
happiest  hours  are  those  I  spend  in  memory, 
living  o'er  again  a  very  happy  past.  And 
now,  to-night,  my  heart  o'erflows  with  joy. 
The  beauteous  heavens  bend  so  benignly  o'er 
us,  and  such  a  soft,  dreamy  light  falls  on  this 
lovely  lake,  begirt  with  forest  shores,  as 
makes  this  peaceful  spot  of  earth  seem  like 
a  fairy  land,  or  an  enchanted  realm;  and  you 
an  angel  by  my  side.  On  wings  of  love  my 
mind  flies  back  to  other  days  when  skies  were 
soft  and  waters  bright,  and  shores  as  green 
and  fair  as  now.  On  such  a  night  as  this  I 
sailed  along  the  bay  where  Boston  looks  into 
the  sea.  Bathed  in  the  moon's  soft  light  the 

106 


A  Strange   Flaw 

city  slept,  encased  in  ocean's  slender  arms, 
and  silence  reigned,  where  day  had  seen  a 
busy  mart;  and  peace  reclined  embowered 
where  strife  had  clamored  long  and  loud. 
Angels  of  joy,  descending,  seemed  to  sit  and 
sing  a  song  of  peace  on  every  spire  and  dome, 
column  and  minaret,  which  learning,  love  or 
liberty  had  raised  within  this  Athens  of  the 
west.  And  from  the  east  where  ocean  melted 
into  sky,  to  where  the  western  heavens  em- 
braced the  sleeping  city,  no  cloud  obscured 
the  azure  vault,  or  shadow  fell  from  the  em- 
pyreal dome,  but  blessings  softly  flew  to 
earth  on  wings  of  light,  from  moon  and  star 
and  every  part  of  heaven.  My  eyes  in  rapt- 
ure viewed  the  tranquil  scene,  and  my  soul 
o'erflowed  with  gratitude  to  God,  whose  love 
had  done  so  much  for  me.  While  dwelling 
thus  on  all  this  loveliness,  I  heard  a  low,  sad 
moan,  such  as  comes  from  a  soul  in  dire  dis- 
tress and  saw  an  object  plunge  from  a  wharf 
into  the  sea.  I  hastened  hither  in  my  boat 
and  found,  to  my  surprise,  that  a  fair  young 
girl  had  tried  to  take  her  life.  As  she  arose 
for  the  last  time,  I  caught  and  drew  her 
from  old  ocean's  grasp,  half  drowned  and 
strangled  with  its  briny  wave.  By  hours  of 

107 


A  Strange  Flaw 

care  and  nursing  she  "was  brought  to  con- 
sciousness, and  then  I  saw  how  sick  at  heart 
she  was. 

"  'I  wish  to  die/  said  she,  'for  earth  has 
naught  for  me  but  shame  and  hate.  I  loved 
a  viper  with  an  angel's  face,  who  led  me  on 
the  path  called  pleasure,  down  to  deepest 
pain.  Betrayed,  forsaken,  in  poverty  and 
despair,  I  fell  into  those  depths  from  which 
no  woman  e'er  can  rise.  I  have  no  honor, 
friends,  kindred,  home  or  any  means  to  buy 
a  scrap  of  food.  Death  only  now  will  take 
me,  and  from  his  arms  you  cruelly  have 
snatched  me.  Oh,  let  me  die.' 

"I  gazed  upon  her  pale,  wan  face,  so  woe- 
begone and  sad,  and  when  I  thought  how 
helpless,  destitute  and  poor  she  was,  and  I 
had  power  to  bring  her  back  to  virtue,  love 
and  life,  how  glad  I  was  that  heaven  had 
thrown  her  in  my  way.  I  knew  I  ran  some 
risk  of  reputation,  but  cared  not  for  that, 
for  when  the  weak  and  friendless  cry  for  aid, 
how  sweet  it  is  to  be  a  man.  I  gave  her  care 
and  food  and  hope,  showed  her  the  pathway 
back  to  right,  found  her  a  home  among  the 
good  and  pure,  where  now  she  lives  in  vir- 
tue, joy  and  love." 

108 


A  Strange  Flaw 

Jennie  listened  eagerly  as  Bragg  related 
this  fiction  in  which  he  was  the  saver  of  life 
and  restorer  of  virtue,  and  much  admired 
the  man  who  was  so  very  kind. 

"You  have  a  very  sympathetic  nature,  Mr. 
Bragg,"  she  said. 

"I  love  to  relieve  the  suffering  and  help 
those  who  need  it,"  said  he.  "I  think  I  owe 
a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  sick,  af- 
flicted and  needy  for  the  pleasure  they  give 
me  in  allowing  me  to  aid  them." 

Thus  Bragg  talked  on,  in  this  sympathetic 
strain,  which  fitted  so  neatly  with  her  tender 
heart,  that  she  was  deeply  affected,  for  he 
seemed  so  noble  and  generous.  .They  walked 
up  the  shore  until  they  came  to  the  road, 
which  they  took,  and  were  soon  at  her  fath- 
er's gate,  where  they  parted. 

On  his  way  to  town  Harry  had  lived  over 
in  memory  the  happy  times  he  had  spent 
with  Jennie,  and  his  hopes  of  seeing  her  in- 
creased as  he  neared  the  village.  The  night 
was  such  a  lovely  one,  she  would  surely  be 
there  waiting  fpr  him,  so  he  hurried  on. 
When  he  reached  the  road  leading  to  the 
lake  he  heard  her  voice  ring  out  clear  and 
sweet  in  the  fresh  night  air.  His  heart  leaped 

109 


A  Strange  Flaw 

with  joy;  he  bounded  toward  the  spot,  when 
to  his  dismay,  he  discovered  that  same  gen- 
tleman with  her,  who,  the  night  before,  he 
had  seen  escort  her  home.  It  was  a  chilling 
sight  to  him  to  see  them  walking,  arm  in  arm, 
and  talking  so  pleasantly  to  each  other.  But 
Harry  was  not  one  to  show  his  jealousy.  He 
stepped  into  the  bushes,  unobserved  by  them, 
'til  they  had  passed  and  then  started  home, 
fully  determined  never  to  come  to  to\vn 
again  on  such  an  errand.  To  himself,  he 
said: 

"Oh,  how  deeply  I've  waded  into  grief 
in  search  of  joy.  The  blind  mole  that  bur- 
rows in  the  earth  has  sense  enough  to  see  and 
shun  a  dangerous  place,  or  go  around  a  rock. 
I've  struck  a  rock,  now  shall  I  go  ahead  or 
go  around?  I  dearly  love  her.  But  what  of 
that?  Shall  I,  like  the  foolish  fish,  swallow 
the  hook  because  I  love  the  worm.  Oh,  can 
she,  who  looks  so  much  like  the  truth,  be- 
come so  very  false?  What  is  there  in  a  pair 
of  rosy  lips  that  I  should  throw  away  the 
world  to  get  their  smiles,  which  ripple  like 
the  lake  with  every  wanton  breeze?  The 
world  is  wide.  I'll  leave  this  vain  pursuit  so 
fraught  with  pain,  smother  my  foolish  love 
no 


A  Strange   Flaw 

and  take  a  higher  path.  Life  is  too  short  to 
waste  as  woman's  slave.  I'll  be  a  man.  But 
what  is  that?  To  plow,  sow,  reap,  eat,  sleep 
and  sweat  and  finally  die  and  be  forgot.  Is 
this  the  sum  of  life?  My  poor  old  mother's 
crooked  form,  bent  by  the  weight  of  anxious 
years,  her  wrinkled,  weather-beaten  face, 
show  how  necessity,  want  and  toil  have  eaten 
flesh  and  marrow  up.  Shall  I  'drudge  through 
the  weary  years  as  she  has  done,  and  reap, 
like  her,  this  crop  of  want  and  woe?" 

Thus  he  meditated  as  he  journeyed  home. 
Hitherto  he  had  often  thought  of  leaving  the 
farm.  He  had  now  caught  a  new  hope.  It 
swelled  his  breast  and  filled  his  mind  with 
dreams.  To  follow  the  footsteps  of  the 
noted,  good  and  great  he  fondly  wished. 
The  world  was  full  of  woe.  Oppression 
crushed  the  weak.  The  rich  robbed  the  poor. 
The  pious  were  persecuted  and  the  wicked 
worshipped.  This  was  wrong.  He  would 
remedy  it.  He  would  rid  the  world  of 
wrong.  He  would  lighten  the  load  of  the 
toiler,  stay  the  arm  of  the  oppressor,  palsy 
the  hand  of  the  robber,  and  produce  a  so- 
ciety which  had  neither  princes  nor  paupers, 
millionaires  nor  beggars.  He  would  do  this. 

in 


A  Strange  Flaw 

How?  From  ambition's  halls  the  way 
seemed  clear;  he  would  study  law.  Foghorn 
of  Littletown  was  his  friend.  He  would 
enter  his  office,  become  a  lawyer,  win  dis- 
tinction, become  powerfu-1;  use  his  talents  for 
the  benefit  of  humanity,  reform  the  world, 
establish  justice,  abolish  poverty,  banish 
want,  destroy  disease,  extinguish  pain, 
and 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  receiving  a 
sudden  blow  between  the  eyes.  In  his  reverie 
he  had  unwittingly  run  against  a  hitching- 
post  near  the  old  homestead  gate. 

"Curse  the  luck,"  he  exclaimed,  as  he 
rubbed  his  face  and  roared  with  pain.  The 
beautiful  palace  of  his  ambition  collapsed  in 
an  instant,  and  he  stood  on  solid  ground. 
Harry  found  his  mother  sitting  on  the  porch 
talking  with  a  neighbor  about  the  crops  and 
the  cattle,  paying  little  or  no  attention  to  the 
beautiful  moonlight  which  streamed  in 
through  the  latticed  woodwork  around  it. 
He  sat  down  near  them.  She  soon  noticed 
how  quiet  and  thoughtful  he  was,  and  sus- 
pecting that  something  had  occurred,  in- 
quired : 

"What  did  you  see  in  town,  Harry?" 

112 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"Nothing  particular,"  he  answered. 

"How  did  you  find  Jennie?" 

"All  right,"  he  replied. 

"Do  tell  us  what  is  the  trouble.  I  never 
saw  you  so  quiet  before?" 

"I  have  been  thinking,"  said  he,  "of  quit- 
ting the  farm.  I  can't  bear  to  think  of  drudg- 
ing away  my  life  here,  as  you  have  done.  I 
want  to  be  something  more  than  a  farmer." 

"Pshaw!"  retorted  his  mother.  "I  just 
thought  that  little  frizzy-haired  doll  would 
take  you  away  from  us,  for  it  is  surely  none 
but  her  that  would  put  such  a  foolish  notion 
into  your  head." 

"Jennie  has  never  said  a  word  to  me  on 
the  subject,"  replied  Harry.  "Only,  I  was 
thinking,  when  I  came  home,  that  perhaps  I 
might  study  law  and  rise  in  the  world  as 
other  men  have." 

"Don't  be  a  fool,  Harry,"  said  she.  "I 
have  worked  hard  all  my  life  and  I  have 
earned  an  honest  living,  and  if  you  do  as 
well  as  I  have  I  shall  be  glad  of  it.  I  am 
getting  old  and  I  have  looked  to  you  for  a 
support  and  to  run  the  farm;  if  you  were  to 
leave  me  now  you  would  make  me  feel  very 
bad." 

"3 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"You  need  not  fear  but  that  I  will  take 
care  of  you,"  said  Harry,  "as  long  as  you 
live,  but  I  have  concluded  to  try  and  make 
my  living  easier  than  by  farming,  and  to  be 
in  a  position  where  I  can  do  more  good  to 
mankind.  When  I  see  the  suffering  and 
misery  in  the  world,  and  how  hard  and  cruel 
is  the  lot  of  the  toiling  millions,  and  how 
easy  some  men  make  a  living  and  enjoy  lux- 
ury at  the  expense  of  the  toilers,  my  heart 
longs  to  do  something  to  rescue  the  over- 
worked and  oppressed  from  those  who  plun- 
der them.  I  must  know  something  about  the 
laws  before  I  can  tell  how  to  improve  them." 

Thus  the  conversation  continued,  and  in 
the  end  Mrs.  Hawkins  reluctantly  consented 
to  her  son's  beginning  the  study  of  law. 


114 


A   Strange   Flaw 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A   RAILROAD   MEETING 

We  will  now  return  to  the  railroad  proj- 
ect. The  next  issue  of  the  "Fountain  of 
Truth"  contained  a  long  article  on  the  pro- 
posed road,  from  which  we  extract  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"A    RAILROAD    OR   RUIN WHICH? 

"With  wildest  joy  we  inform  our  readers 
that  the  representative  of  a  syndicate  of  co- 
lossal capitalists  now  honors  our  town  with 
his  presence.  The  design  of  the  enormous 
aggregation  of  wealth  and  brains  represented 
by  him  is  to  build  a  double  track  steel  rail- 
road from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  The 
feeble  imagination  of  man  cannot  picture, 
nor  his  mind  grasp,  the  far-reaching,  wide- 
spread, deep-seated  and  innumerable  advan- 
tages that  would  spring  from  this  great  com- 
mercial highway.  Nature  has  made  this  land 
a  seat  for  an  empire.  Its  hills  are  filled 
with  building  stones,  its  groves  abound  in, 

"5 


A   Strange   Flaw 

giant  oaks,  and  through  its  verdant  vales  the 
purest  water  ever  flows.  A  railroad,  then, 
is  all  we  need,  and  this  once  built  the  fac- 
tories of  the  world  would  come  to  us,  and 
bring  vast  multitudes  with  pockets  crammed 
with  wealth  to  make  a  mighty  city." 

The  article  argued  that  a  railroad  would 
increase  the  number  of  personal  injuries  and 
thus  benefit  the  doctors,  swell  the  amount  of 
litigation  and  thus  help  the  lawyers,  and  make 
every  class  happy  in  its  turn.  "With  a  rail- 
road," said  the  article,  "Littletown  would 
be  the  center  of  the  earth  instead,  as  now, 
an  ulcer  on  its  surface."  It  warned  the 
people  that,  unless  encouraged,  the  syndicate 
might  not  decide  upon  Littletown,  but  se- 
lect some  other  point,  and  calamities  would 
then  come  upon  their  cherished  village  until 
it  shrank  to  a  desert  waste.  The  article 
closed  by  announcing  a  meeting  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Littletown  at  the  Court  House,  to 
take  action  in  the  matter.  After  it  came  out, 
anxious  squads  of  men  could  be  seen  stand- 
ing on  the  streets  reading  the  "Fountain  of 
Truth,"  and  talking  earnestly  and  excitedly 
with  each  other.  The  price  of  real  estate 

116 


A  Strange   Flaw 

rose  enormously.  Men  who  had  advertised 
their  property  for  sale,  went  out  and  took 
down  their  signs,  and  began  searching  for 
some  to  buy  on  credit.  Nearly  every  man 
who  had  anything  to  mortgage,  mortgaged 
it  for  money  to  pay  part  down  on  purchases. 
Timothy  Bronze  opened  a  real  estate  office 
and  helped  foreign  corporations  to  unload 
during  the  boom.  The  Lyer  Brothers  owned 
a  swamp  of  about  one  hundred  acres,  which 
they  had  received  for  writing  a  ten  line  edi- 
torial on  the  honesty  of  the  "Swamp  Land 
Swindle."  During  the  excitement  they  sold 
this  at  a  high  price  to  the  Baptist  church  for 
a  graveyard.  Elder  Goodman  was  seen,  and 
on  the  following  Sunday  he  mentioned  the 
railroad  project  favorably  in  his  sermon. 
When  the  night  came  for  the  meeting,  the 
whole  town  was  ablaze  with  excitement.  On 
that  evening  Bragg  and  Bronze,  with  the 
Lyer  Brothers  and  Elder  Goodman,  went  to 
the  Court  House  together,  and  there  they 
found  a  crowd  gathered,  anxiously  waiting. 
A.  Lyer  was  made  president,  and  George 
Washington  Lyer,  Secretary.  The  President 
opened  the  meeting  by  calling  on  the  Hon- 
orable Henderson  Bragg  to  address  it.  Mr. 

117 


A  Strange  Flaw 

Bragg  arose   and   spoke   in   slow,   measured 
tones  as  follows: 

"Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  Littletown: 
This  is  the  happiest  moment  of  my  life. 
From  the  high  apex  of  its  eastern  office,  the 
affluent  company  which  I  represent  has 
watched  the  growth  of  this,  your  beauteous 
town.  (Applause.)  Our  company  are  pa- 
triots whose  pious  lives,  high-fraught  with 
holy  works,  a  bounteous  God  has  justly 
blessed  with  wealth  beyond  our  greatest  wish. 
Now,  with  the  cup  of  affluence  running  over, 
they  seek  this  pleasant  land  to  see  how  they 
can  benefit  its  good  inhabitants.  A  railroad 
they  would  build  across  this  continent.  Along 
its  track  comforts  will  cluster.  Its  flying 
trains  will  scatter  blessings  far  and  wide. 
Words  cannot  tell  the  joys  innumerable  that 
will  spring  spontaneously  from  this  great  en- 
terprise. God  made  this  village  for  a  mighty 
mart,  and  by  the  assistance  of  this  great  high- 
way people  will  swarm  and  cluster  here  like 
bees  around  a  honey-pot.  Its  boarded  huts 
and  cots  of  sod  to  palaces  shall  be  trans- 
formed. Paupers  will  to  merchant  princes 
rise.  On  its  sandy  soil,  where  now  the  milk- 
weed withers  in  the  sun,  the  marble  palaces 

118 


A   Strange   Flaw 

of  its  millionaires,  with  silver  minarets  and 
golden  domes,  shall  mock  the  heavens  with 
man's  magnificence.  All  that,  we  freely  give 
and  only  ask  a  little  friendly  aid  from  you. 
We  ask  your  people  only  to  subscribe  for 
stock  that  they  may  share  with  us  the  golden 
showers  of  profits  which  this  enterprise  will 
yield.  What  say  you,  friends?" 

"Never  since  the  Son  of  God  offered  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  for  faith,"  ejaculated 
the  Reverend  Goodman,  piously,  "has  there 
been  such  an  offer  as  this.  I'll  tell  the  glad 
news  to  all  my  flock  and  have  them  toil  as 
one  to  aid  these  noble  men." 

There  was  a  moment's  pause;  then  Mr. 
Jinks  arose  and  said: 

"Let's  hear  from  Timothy  Bronze,  Esq." 

There  came  from  all  quarters  of  the  room 
the  cry  for  Bronze:  "Speech!"  "Bronze!" 
"Timothy  Bronze !" 

Timothy  Bronze  then  arose,  and  having 
adjusted  the  set  of  his  coat,  began  to  speak 
as  follows: 

"The  magnanimous  and  unanimous  clamor 
for  Timothy  Bronze  paralyzes  his  tongue 
and  clogs  his  gullet  with  globules  of  grati- 
tude." 

119 


A   Strange   Flaw 

"Hear!  Hear!"  ejaculated  the  Rev. 
Goodman. 

"Meandering  from  my  meagerness,"  con- 
tinued Bronze,  "let's  mention  the  mighty  ob- 
ject of  this  meeting.  The  womb  of  time  is 
ripe.  Destiny  engraves  the  name  of  Little- 
town  upon  imscratchable  granite  as  the  me- 
tropolis of  America.  In  my  mind's  eye,  I 
see  her  pusillanimous  basswood  hovels  trans- 
mogrify into  gilded  palaces  as  spontaneously 
as  the  crimson  gilded  mushroom  springs  from 
the  rotten  stump.  Where  is  the  Lamp  of 
Aladdin  that  manufactures  this  miracle? 
Behold!  I  observe  it  now.  I  perceive  it 
crawling  like  a  huge  caterpillar  along  the 
ridge  pole  of  the  horizon.  I  hear  it  puffing — 

puffing — snorting — snorting — and hie — • 

hie " 

Here  he  broke  down  and  commenced 
coughing  vociferously.  This  was  his  custom 
when  he  struck  a  higher  key  than  he  could 
carry  out. 

"The  Lord  loveth  a  cheerful  giver.  It 
is  more  blessed  to  give  than  receive,"  was  the 
fervent  response  of  Rev.  Goodman. 

G.  W.  Lyer  then  spoke : 

"Wind  is  wind,  but  it  won't  build  rail- 

120 


A   Strange   Flaw 

roads.  (Cheers.)  This  gas  about  the  Lord 
is  all  right,  but  it  won't  run  engines. 
(Cheers.)  If  you  want  a  railroad  lock  your 
jaw  and  unlock  your  safe." 

Mr.  Bronze  felt  it  his  duty  to  make  a  few 
more  remarks,  so  he  arose  again  and  said: 

"When  the  cold  pop  ferments  and  fizzles 
in  the  bottle  then  the  thirsty  philosopher 
pulls  the  cork.  When  the  fat  clam  has  grown 
broad  in  the  back,  then  the  scientific  clam 
catcher  peels  his  shell;  the  wise  bird  does 
not  wait  for  the  worm  to  take  wings,  but 
gobbles  him  where  he  creeps  and  swallows 
him  while  he  squirms.  Procrastination  is  the 
parent  of  poverty.  Then  jerk  while  the  bull- 
fish  bites!" 

Many  other  speeches  were  made,  urg- 
ing the  people  to  take  stock  in  the  road,  and 
the  sentiment  of  the  meeting  seemed  to  be 
unanimous  in  favor  of  it,  when  Enoch  Fog- 
horn arose  and  said  he  desired  to  ask  Mr. 
Bragg  a  question.  Consent  being  given,  he 
said: 

"Please  give  us  the  addresses  of  the  men 
who  compose  this  company." 

"Kind  friend,  that  would  weary  us  all, 
there  are  so  large  a  number,"  Bragg  replied. 

121 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"I  should  say  so!"  ejaculated  Mr.  Jinks. 

"That  is  a  useless  ^uestion,"  said  Good- 
man. 

"A  most  incompetent  and  immaterial  in- 
terrogatory," suggested  Bronze. 

"It  might  weary  you,"  said  Foghorn,  "but 
it  wouldn't  me.  What  and  where  is  its  prop- 
erty?" 

"Foghorn,  your  obtrusiveness  betokens 
imbecility,"  said  Bronze. 

"I  am  not  now  prepared,  my  dear  Mr. 
Foghorn,  to  schedule  its  enormous  assets," 
said  Bragg.  "That  great  labor  would  be 
too  tedious." 

"Brother  Foghorn,  do  you  doubt  these 
honest  men?"  asked  the  Rev.  Goodman. 

"What  do  we  care  if  we  get  our  pay," 
said  George  W.  Lyer. 

"He  offers  to  pay  us  in  stock.  If  the  com- 
pany is  worthless,  of  what  value  is  its  stock?" 
demanded  Foghorn.  "If  it  is  'sound  and 
reliable,'  why  is  it  so  anxious  to  dispose  of 
its  stock?  The  association  of  large  and 
small  capitalists  is  like  the  association  of 
large  and  small  fish.  One  class  soon  swal- 
lows the  other.  In  the  end  your  subscription 
will  be  a  gift  to  a  gang  of  men  of  whom  you 

122 


A  Strange   Flaw 

know  nothing,  and  judging  by  their  repre- 
sentative here,  they  may  be  the  hardest  lot 
on  earth." 

While  he  was  speaking  he  was  often  in- 
terrupted by  cat-calls,  groans  and  hisses,  and 
was  called  to  order  by  Bronze  and  Goodman 
and  others.  He  was  at  last  compelled  to  de- 
sist by  the  determined  sentiment  of  the  meet- 
ing. When  he  had  ceased,  Rev.  Goodman 
offered  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
adopted  almost  unanimously  by  a  rising 
vote: 

"Resolved,  That  we  deeply  regret  that 
one  of  our  citizens  should  make  such  an  un- 
warrantable and  unjustifiable  attack  upon  the 
character  of  the  Honorable  Henderson 
Bragg,  whom  we  all  regard  with  the  greatest 
esteem." 

Bragg  voted  against  this  resolution,  and 
then  arose  and  said: 

"My  dear  friends,  Foghorn  is  an  honest 
man;  so  are  you  all.  I  love  the  brother  who 
asks  for  proof.  I  will  deluge  him  with  it  at 
the  proper  time.  Now  that  we  are  all  in 
harmony,  I  will  call  you  all  my  brothers. 
Prosperity  to  bursting  shall  be  yours.  Dear 
Brother  Goodman,  your  searching  prayers 

123 


A  Strange   Flaw 

shall  bring  us  riches  here  on  earth  and  peace 
hereafter." 

Foghorn  then  arose  and  left  the  hall. 

The  subscription  book  was  then  opened 
and  nearly  everyone  subscribed  for  all  the 
stock  he  thought  he  could  pay  for,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  solicit  subscrip- 
tions through  the  adjoining  country. 

This  committee  was  selected  from  the  dif- 
ferent sects,  cliques,  and  clans  in  the  com- 
munity. Religion  was  represented  by  Rev. 
Goodman  of  the  Methodist  church.  Infidel- 
ity by  R.  Gospel  Windysoul,  President  of 
the  Liberal  League.  Temperance,  by  Dr. 
Waters,  the  druggist,  President  of  the  Tem- 
perance Reform  Club.  The  liquor  interests, 
by  Hans  Dummeldeutche,  who  kept  a  saloon 
and  brewery.  The  Irish,  by  Fagan  O' Fla- 
herty. The  Secret  Societies,  by  H.  E.  Q. 
Grip. 

The  next  day  after  the  meeting  they  met 
for  consultation  with  Bronze  and  Bragg  at 
Bronze's  office. 

They  concluded  to  divide  the  work  and 
each  labor  where  he  would  be  likely  to  do 
the  most  good.  Bragg  assured  them  that 
when  the  road  was  built  its  friends  should 

124 


A   Strange   Flaw 

not  be  forgotten;  that  in  letting  contracts  the 
company  would  reserve  the  right  to  reject 
all  bids,  and  those  who  might  wish  to  con- 
tract for  work  on  the  road  could  be  rewarded 
in  that  way. 

Elder  Goodman  stated  that  he  had  al- 
ready consulted  with  the  leading  men  of  his 
church  and  would  see  each  member  thereof 
personally  and  deliver  a  lecture  at  the  church 
next  week  on  the  necessities  and  advantages 
of  a  railroad. 

R.  Gospel  Windysoul  said  that  he  had  seen 
the  Vice-President  and  Secretary  of  the  Lib- 
eral League  and  secured  their  support,  and 
would  canvass  all  the  others  and  see  all  his 
friends,  and  if  Brother  Goodman  lectured  at 
the  church  next  week,  he  would  adjourn  the 
League  to  meet  there  and  make  a  few  re- 
marks on  the  subject,  after  Brother  Good- 
man's lecture. 

Dr.  Waters  stated  that  his  whole  heart 
was  in  the  work,  and  that  he  would  have  the 
matter  of  taking  stock  brought  up  before  the 
Temperance  Reform  Club  at  its  next  meet- 
ing, at  which  time  he  had  made  arrange- 
ments to  have  Mr.  Bragg  speak,  and  he 
would  make  it  his  special  duty  to  see  every 

125 


A   Strange   Flaw 

member  of  the  club  and  exhort  them  on  the 
subject. 

"Mein  friends,  Mr.  Goodman  and  Mr. 
Vaters  and  Mr.  Vindysoul  speaks  veil,"  said 
Mr.  Dummeldeutche.  "I  vill  close  mein 
saloon  and  prewery  both  de  dimes  vend 
Broder  Goodman  speaks  and  ven  the  dem- 
perance  club  meets  and  have  mein  fel- 
lows all  coom  over,  and  when  everybody 
speaks  I  speak,  too.  And  every  man  vat 
comes  to  mein  saloon  I  treats  him  and  gets 
him  to  take  some  of  dot  stock." 

The  committee  continued  their  delibera- 
tions until  each  member  had  expressed  him- 
self willing,  and  assured  the  others  of  his  co- 
operation. 

When  they  had  laid  out  their  work,  and 
each  had  selected  his  field,  they  swarmed  out 
of  Timothy's  office  and  scattered  themselves 
throughout  the  community  like  bees  from  a 
hive,  to  return  again  and  again,  laden  with 
the  earnings  of  the  people  of  the  country. 

Everything  went  on  swimmingly  with 
Bragg,  until  the  evening  came  for  him  to 
speak  before  the  Temperance  Reform  Club. 
To  deliver  a  temperance  address  was  a  little 
new,  but  as  he  had  prayed  with  the  preachers 

126 


A  Strange   Flaw 

and  drank  with  the  drinkers,  he  was  confident 
that  his  assurance  and  dissembling  looks 
would  carry  him  through  as  a  temperance 
apostle.  Besides,  he  knew  that  the  president 
and  many  of  the  influential  members  were 
not  total  abstainers,  so  he  resolved  to  try. 
He  would  begin  on  the  subject  of  temperance 
and  tell  the  story  of  his  life,  how  wicked  he 
had  been,  of  the  crimes  he  had  committed, 
and  then  he  would  tell  how  he  had  reformed; 
and  gradually  drift  from  that  to  the  great 
railroad  enterprise  in  which  he  was  engaged. 

The  Littletown  Temperance  Reform  Club 
was  a  collection  of  human  wrecks,  mental 
wrecks,  moral  wrecks,  physical  wrecks,  and 
financial  wrecks,  all  assembled  there  for  the 
purpose  of  reviving  for  a  little  time  their 
waning  reputation  and  gilding,  by  self-praise 
in  public,  the  defects  of  their  private  life. 
These  were  associated  with,  and  controlled 
by,  a  few  professional  reformers. 

On  the  evening  of  the  meeting  Bragg 
started  to  go  to  the  hall.  On  the  way  he 
slipped  into  the  back  door  of  a  saloon  and 
drank  a  glass  of  beer.  As  he  was  going  in 
he  met  the  grim  visage  of  Enoch  Foghorn, 
who  followed  and  watched  him.  When  he 

127 


A   Strange   Flaw 

had  done  drinking  he  started  out,  and  met 
the  president  and  secretary  of  the  club  com- 
ing in.  They  informed  him  that  they  had 
come  there  to  attend  a  caucus  to  nominate 
township  officers,  that  he  should  go  directly 
to  the  hall  and  he  would  find  a  large  audi- 
ence waiting,  and  that  they  would  be  there  im- 
mediately. It  was  a  motley  crowd.  Rev. 
Goodman  was  there  with  his  church;  Hans 
Dummeldeutche  with  his  saloon  patrons.  All 
classes,  conditions  and  states  of  cleanliness 
and  degrees  of  intelligence,  races  and  nation- 
alities were  represented.  President  Waters, 
the  druggist,  soon  came  in  and  opened  the 
meeting.  Before  introducing  him  he  told 
Bragg  he  might  talk  to  the  club  on  any  sub- 
ject except  politics  or  religion,  that  politics 
included  the  question  of  prohibition  or  license. 
His  reason  for  this  he  stated  to  be  that  the 
last  speaker  was  a  fanatical  prohibitionist, 
and  went  so  far  as  to  argue  that  the  sale  of 
all  kinds  of  liquors  should  be  prohibited  by 
law,  which,  if  done,  would  entirely  destroy 
the  drug  business,  "And,"  continued  Dr.  Wa- 
ters, "there  is  no  telling  how  far  the  extrava- 
gant idiot  might  have  gone  if  Deacon  Good- 
enough  hadn't  called  him  to  order."  With 

128 


A   Strange   Flaw 

that  explanation  he  introduced  Mr.  Bragg. 
Mr.  Bragg  began: 

"I  will  tell  you  how  I  got  to  drinking. 
Years  ago,  when  I  was  a  young  man,  I  was 
helping  grade  a  railroad  down  among  the 
Catskill  Mountains.  I  shantied  out  down 
there  in  the  wilderness  with  twenty  others. 
Every  one  drank,  lied,  swore  and  played 
cards  but  me.  I  went  to  bed  many  a  night 
and  slept  on  straw  between  two  drunken  men, 
when  I  was  the  only  sober  person  in  the 
shanty.  They  would  call  me  up  nearly  every 
hour  in  the  night  to  get  pepper  tea  and  salt 
and  water  for  them.  Sometimes  a  whip-poor- 
will  would  perch  himself  on  the  corner  of 
the  shanty,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  and 
pipe  his  shrill  notes,  and  the  way  those  fel- 
lows would  wake  up  and  swear  at  him  makes 
me  shudder  yet.  One  night  the  boys  were 
having  a  terrible  spree.  Two  of  the  most 
intoxicated,  Frank  Ruff  and  Bill  Savage,  were 
determined  to  fight.  They  staggered  up  to 
each  other,  clenched  and  fell  of  their  own 
weight,  each  swearing  the  most  fearful  oaths 
that  he  would  kill  the  other,  but  both  were 
so  drunk  and  weak  that  they  could  not  kill 
a  fly  with  their  combined  forces."  (Tre- 

129 


A  Strange  Flaw 

mendous  applause.)  "One  day  the  boss  came 
to  me  and  told  me  that  he  was  going  to  cut 
down  my  wages  fifty  cents  a  day.  This 
startled  me,  as  I  had  been  doing  on  the  aver- 
age nearly  twice  as  much  work  as  the  other 
men.  I  thought  he  reduced  my  wages  be- 
cause I  did  not  do  as  the  others  did,  so  I  went 
to  drinking  with  the  rest,  and  sure  enough  he 
raised  my  wages  again."  At  this  point 
some  one  in  the  audience  shouted  out:  "Tell 
us  where  you  learned  to  lie."  This  remark 
caused  much  commotion  and  the  president 
severely  reprimanded  the  party  who  made  it. 
Mr.  Bragg  then  continued  to  narrate  a  fic- 
titious story  of  his  life,  telling  of  crimes  he 
had  committed  while  under  the  influence  of 
liquor.  He  spoke  of  his  setting  fire  to  a  blind 
asylum,  of  his  cheating  an  idiot,  and  final- 
ly of  his  trying  to  rob  a  hard-shell  Baptist 
contribution  box  of  a  missionary  fund,  four- 
ing  the  time  he  was  telling  the  audience  how 
vicious  he  had  been  he  was  frequently  inter- 
rupted by  prolonged  applause.  He  then  in- 
tended to  tell  the  audience  how  greatly  he 
had  reformed,  and  after  he  had  done  that  to 
lay  before  them  the  great  business  he  was  at 
present  engaged  in.  But  before  he  had  a 

130 


A  Strange   Flaw 

chance  to  tell  of  his  reformation  he  was  in- 
terrupted by  Enoch  Foghorn,  who  arose  and 
said  he  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Bragg  a  ques- 
tion. The  looks  of  Foghorn  worried  Bragg. 
He  would  rather  have  been  asked  a  question 
by  any  other  man  on  earth. 

"Did  you  take  a  drink  of  beer  in  the  sa- 
loon before  coming  to  the  hall  to-night?" 
asked  Foghorn. 

"What  if  I  did?"  said  Bragg. 

"Nothing,"  said  Foghorn,  "only  you  have 
told  this  audience  what  a  bad  man  you  have 
been.  Everybody  believes  that  to  be  true. 
Don't  pretend  you  have  reformed.  I  saw 
you  drink  there  myself." 

Bragg  was  about  to  reply  when  he  was 
prevented  by  the  most  stupendous  applause 
that  the  Littletown  club  ever  knew.  As  soon 
as  silence  came  again,  Foghorn  turned  to 
Bragg  with  a  look  that  made  him  wither, 
and  pointing  his  long,  bony  finger  at  him 
said: 

"How  dare  you  masquerade  in  virtue's 
guise?  The  very  name  of  Temperance  is 
profaned,  her  power  destroyed  and  influence 
blasted  by  the  false  harangues  of  all  such 
men  as  you.  Good  and  true  men  who  are  al- 


A  Strange  Flaw 

ways  ready  to  help  repentant  sinners  up  the 
steep  ascent  to  virtue  are  indisposed  to  mix 
with  unrepentant  knaves."  At  this  point 
Elder  Goodman  arose  and  called  Foghorn  to 
order.  Foghorn  then  left  Bragg  and  turned 
on  Goodman  with  increased  fury,  saying: 

"Does  the  sword  of  truth  pierce  you,  too, 
that  you  would  interrupt  it?  You,  who  took 
an  oath  to  preach  your  Master,  Jesus  Christ, 
then  dragged  your  ministerial  robes  into  the 
dirty  pool  of  politics  to  lift  a  vile,  despised, 
indicted  sot  into  the  chair  of  State,  leading  to 
his  and  your  support  the  trusting  weaklings 
of  your  flock,  whose  hopes  of  heaven  hang 
on  their  pastor's  words,  and  who  little  know 
how  piety  and  hypocrisy  can  be  mixed.  Dare 
you  talk  temperance  and  virtue,  you  gious 
fraud?" 

Goodman  grew  very  red  in  the  face  while 
Foghorn  was  talking  and  when  he  had 
reached  this  point  he  started  toward  him  and 
severaL  of  his  parishioners  followed.  As 
they  approached  Foghorn  stood  as  motion- 
less and  fearless  as  a  stone  statue.  They 
strutted  up  to  him  and  gave  him  a  look  of 
cowardly  wrath  and  began  brandishing  their 
arms  in  a  threatening  attitude,  when  a  big, 

132 


A  Strange   Flaw 

strapping  son  of  the  soil  arose,  hitched  up 
his  breeches  and  swaggered  toward  them 
carelessly  as  he  drolled  out: 

"Here,  boys,  fair  play  is  the  word.  I  don't 
propose  to  see  a  lot  of  you  fellows  pitching 
onto  the  old  man.  If  I  understand  what  he 
has  been  saying  there's  a  darned  sight  of 
truth  in  it." 

The  prospect  of  a  fight  had  a  delirious  ef- 
fect upon  the  women  present,  and  they  all 
made  a  stampede  for  the  door.  Before  they 
could  be  quieted  they  had  so  crowded  each 
other  that  part  of  them  were  down  on  the 
floor  and  the  others  were  crawling  over  them. 
The  air  was  filled  with  their  screams,  shouts 
and  groans,  the  cat-calls  of  the  boys,  and 
the  admonitions  of  the  officers  not  to  get 
excited,  that  there  would  be  no  fighting.  See- 
ing it  would  be  useless  to  try  to  continue  fur- 
ther with  the  meeting  the  president  adjourned 
it,  and  did  his  best  to  raise  the  fallen  and  bind 
up  the  broken-boned.  Mr.  Bragg  managed 
to  work  out  of  the  jumble  and  get  to  his  ho- 
tel, feeling  very  much  discomfited  at  the 
result,  and  inwardly  swearing  he  would  nev- 
er undertake  to  deliver  a  temperance  address 
again. 

133 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  INTERVIEW 

The  idea  of  studying  for  a  lawyer  hung  by 
Harry  constantly  from  its  first  conception. 
He  mused  on  it  by  day  and  dreamed  of  it  by 
night.  It  quickened  his  pulse,  excited  his 
nerves  and  almost  buried,  for  the  time,  the 
passion  which  he  had  for  Jennie.  He  was 
very  anxious  to  begin,  and  in  a  few  days  aft- 
er the  night  that  he  went  to  town  with  light 
heart  and  buoyant  hope  to  meet  the  girl  he 
loved,  we  find  him  treading  the  same  read, 
no  less  delighted  and  anxious,  but  on  a  far 
different  mission.  He  now  seeks  lore  in- 
stead of  love.  When  he  returned  that  night 
he  hugged  an  old  calf-bound  book  to  his 
breast  with  some  of  the  feelings  of  rapture 
and  triumph  that  he  would  have  felt  had  he 
on  his  last  journey  found  and  returned  with 
the  girl  he  loved.  Fantastic  pictures  of  fut- 
ure greatness  appeared  to  his  imagination, 
and  he  hurried  home  eager  to  unravel  the 

134 


A   Strange   Flaw 

mysteries  of  the  book  which  he  looked  at 
again  and  again  as  he  glided  rapidly  over 
the  ground.  He  had  made  arrangements 
with  Mr.  Foghorn  by  which  he  could  study 
law  under  his  direction,  spending  part  of  the 
time  on  the  farm  and  part  in  the  office.  When 
Harry  entered  the  house  he  found  his  moth- 
er's face  radiant  with  glee.  Harry's  first 
thought  was  that  she  perceived  his  success 
and  was  overjoyed  to  see  him  return  home 
with  a  law  book  under  his  arm.  And  as  he 
came  in  he  exclaimed  exultantly: 

"I  made  it,  mother,  I  made  it.  I  am  going 
to  study  law  under  Mr.  Foghorn  and  it  will 
not  cost  me  anything.  I  know  you  are  glad !" 

"Oh,  nonsense,"  answered  his  mother. 
"Something  has  happened  since  you  went 
away  that  puts  the  law  business  in  the  shade." 

"What  is  that?"  inquired  Harry. 

"A  very  rich  man  has  been  here,"  continued 
his  mother.  "He  is  from  New  York  City, 
and  is  going  to  build  a  railroad  through  this 
county  and  I  am  going  to  own  a  part  of  it. 
I  have  been  thinking  of  what  you  said  about 
my  always  working  so  hard  for  a  living,  and 
I  had  a  chance  to  buy  an  interest  in  the  new 
railroad  that  they  are  going  to  build,  and  if 

135 


A  Strange  Flaw 

you  will  let  your  crazy  ideas  of  studying  law 
go  awhile  and  help  me  pay  for  the  stock,  we'll 
get  rich  in  no  time." 

"For  God's  sake,"  exclaimed  Harry  in 
despair,  "how  much  stock  did  you  take,  how 
much  of  the  railroad  did  you  buy?" 

"I  only  bought  $500  worth,"  she  answered, 
"but  I  can  get  some  more,  I  think,  if  I  see 
them  right  away.  I'll  go  to  town  to-morrow 
and  see,  if  you  say  so;  besides,  it's  so  very 
profitable,  perhaps  $500  worth  will  make  us 
as  rich  as  we  will  need  to  be." 

Foghorn  had  told  Harry  of  the  scheme 
of  Bragg  and  his  hirelings,  and  he  was 
completely  stupefied  when  he  learned  how 
his  poor  old  mother  had  been  duped  by 
them.  At  last  he  recovered  himself  and 
said: 

"Five  hundred  dollars  is  surely  enough. 
The  whole  scheme  is  a  swindle,  so  Mr.  Fog- 
horn says,  and  he  knows.  You  have  lost  just 
$500  in  the  matter;  don't,  for  heaven's  sake, 
take  any  more  stock." 

"Why,  Harry,"  said  Mrs.  Hawkins,  "how 
can  you  speak  so  discouragingly  of  my  pur- 
chase? There  is  no  swindle  about  it.  Rev. 
Goodman  was  along  and  he  says  it  is  all  right. 

136 


A  Strange  Flaw 

He  has  taken  a  lot  of  stock  himself,  and  he 
wouldn't  lie  about  it.  And  there  are  the  ed- 
itors of  the  papers,  they  have  taken  three  or 
four  times  as  much  as  I  have  and  they  know 
what  they  are  doing.  So  you  see,  Foghorn  is 
wrong  after  all." 

The  plan  had  worked  well.  The  most 
that  Harry  could  do  was  to  induce  his  mother 
not  to  take  any  more,  and  she  promised  finally 
that  she  would  not.  Harry  went  to  bed  that 
night  with  a  heavy  heart.  He  saw  that  he 
would  have  to  work  on  the  railroad  to  pay  for 
the  stock  which  his  mother  had  unwittingly 
subscribed,  in  order  to  save  the  homestead; 
but  he  resolved  to  overcome  all  obstacles  and 
not  be  deterred  from  his  determination  to 
study  law,  and  when  he  once  became  a  law- 
yer he  would  visit  with  vengeance  the 
swindling  railroad  projectors. 

Let  us  now  return  to  Jennie.  She  had  not, 
as  yet,  seen  Harry  since  the  beginning  of  her 
associations  with  Mr.  Bragg;  and  had  often 
gone  to  the  lake  shore  and  returned  in  disap- 
pointment. More  than  two  long  weeks  had 
elapsed  which  had  been  full  of  incident.  She 
had  seen  Bragg  almost  daily  during  that 
period,  both  on  the  street  and  at  her  home, 

137 


A   Strange   Flaw 

which  he  visited  very  frequently.  His  polite- 
ness and  kindness;  his  jolly  and  frolicsome 
disposition  sometimes,  and  his  sentimental  and 
religious  moods  at  other  times;  his  spright- 
liness,  vivacity  and  eloquence,  boldness  and 
tenderness,  and  above  all  the  great  power  and 
wealth  which  she  supposed  he  possessed,  all 
combined  to  make  a  deep  impression  upon 
her.  She  could  not  help  admiring  him. 
There  was  such  a  contrast  between  him  as  he 
appeared  to  her,  and  the  poor,  uncultured, 
country  lad  whom  she  had  promised  to  wecl, 
that  she  could  not  fail  to  see  it.  She  began 
to  think  that  possibly  she  had  been  a  little 
hasty  in  falling  in  love  with  Harry.  Per- 
haps her  mother  was  right  after  all.  Could 
she  be  blamed  for  thoughts  like  these  ?  Bragg 
was  becoming  "more  and  more  demonstrative 
in  his  affections,  and  it  was  easy  to  see  that 
her  beauty  and  intelligence  had  aroused  at 
least  his  passions,  and  what  he  had  begun  in 
hypocrisy  for  policy  was  liable  to  end  in 
seriousness.  She  felt  that  it  was  not  right  to 
receive  his  attentions  while  she  was  engaged 
to  Harry.  Possibly  Bragg  intended  matri- 
mony. If  he  did,  how  delightful  to  become 
the  wife  of  a  great  railroad  king  of  unbound- 

138 


A   Strange  Flaw 

ed  wealth.  To  live  in  a  palatial  mansion, 
dress  in  diamonds,  and  be  surrounded  by  all 
the  comforts  and  luxuries  which  wealth  could 
bring.  How  proud  and  happy  it  would  make 
her  parents.  The  idea  was  entrancing.  And 
then  to  marry  Harry.  The  thought  of  being 
a  farmer's  wife,  trudging  in  poverty  through 
the  winter's  cold  and  the  summer's  heat,  for 
the  bare  necessities  of  life,  seemed  cold  about 
her  heart.  What  a  contrast.  But  she  loved 
Harry  and  had  promised  to  be  his  wife.  What 
should  she  do  ?  Such  were  the  thoughts  which 
agitated  Jennie's  mind  as  she  took  a  book  and 
strolled  down  to  the  lake  shore.  It  was  one 
of  those  drowsy  summer  afternoons  when  the 
mind  loves  to  wander  away  from  the  busy 
scenes  of  life,  out  into  the  green  fields  and 
waving  meadows,  and  we  delight  to  lie  down 
in  some  cool  shade  on  the  green  grass  beside' 
a  rippling  brook  and  listen  to  the  rustle  of 
the  leaves,  or  be  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  lazy 
hum  of  the  insect  world.  Jennie  reclined  un- 
der a  tree  and  tried  to  read,  but  her  mind 
would  wander  away  from  her  book  to  Harry 
and  Mr.  Bragg,  and  she  finally  laid  it 
down  and  looked  off  on  the  beautiful  lake  and 
up  into  the  blue  sky.  She  sat  and  watched  a 

139 


A  Strange  Flaw 

little  fleecy  cloud  as  It  slowly  sailed  unattend- 
ed through  the  azure  in  the  bright  sunlight. 
While  she  watched,  it  grew  smaller  and 
fainter,  until  at  last  it  dissolved  away  and 
the  sky  was  cloudless.  And  she  wondered  if 
the  little  trouble  that  now  clouded  her  exist- 
ence would  some  day  melt  away  and  like  it 
leave  no  trace  behind.  While  thus  musing 
she  was  startled  by  the  approach  of  Harry 
Hawkins.  He  was  taking  a  little  walk  by  the 
lake  shore  without  expecting  to  see  her,  and 
when  he  spied  her  sitting  there  he  was  review- 
ing his  lessons,  but  his  old  love  returned  in  an 
instant,  and  the  past  was  all  forgotten.  He 
rushed  toward  her,  expecting  she  would  fly  in- 
to his  arms  as  she  had  often  done.  But  when 
she  coolly  asked  him  to  take  a  seat  beside  her, 
it  rather  dashed  his  ardor.  Dumb  with  aston- 
ishment, he  gazed  on  her  until  the  tears  came 
into  his  eyes.  Jennie  saw  that  her  cold  de- 
meanor hurt  him,  but  like  many  other  girls, 
she  rather  liked  to  harass  and  humiliate  her 
lover,  as  cats  enjoy  toying  with  a  mouse  after 
they  have  caught  it,  by  biting  it  a  little,  letting 
it  go,  catching  it  and  biting  it  again  and 
again. 

"Darling,  how  can  you  treat  me  so  cold- 

140 


A  Strange   Flaw 

ly?"  said  Harry.  "It  is  now  two  long  weeks 
since  I  saw  you  last,  and  I  have  been  longing 
and  waiting  to  see  you  that  I  might  again 
feel  your  sweet  kiss  and  fond  embrace.  Oh, 
darling,  I  live  upon  your  love.  It  is  my  life, 
the  inspiration  of  my  existence.  I  cannot  bear 
the  thought  of  losing  it,  and  that  you  should 
greet  me  so  coldly  now  almost  staggers  me. 
Do  tell  me  what  has  happened." 

"I  am  not  aware  that  anything  special  has 
occurred,"  replied  Jennie  with  a  somewhat  in- 
different air.  "I  see  no  use  in  being  so  very 
fond  all  the  time." 

"You  never  acted  so  coldly  and  indifferent- 
ly before,"  said  he.  "At  our  last  meeting  we 
met  and  parted  as  lovers  should,  and  the  sweet 
remembrance  of  that  has  filled  my  heart  with 
joy  ever  since.  I  know  something  has  hap- 
pened and  I  beseech  you,  if  you  have  any  love 
for  me  or  any  interest  in  my  happiness,  to  tell 
me  what  it  is." 

"I  have  been  wanting  to  see  you  several 
days  to  have  a  long  talk  with  you,"  she  re- 
plied. Here  she  spied  her  mother  coming 
toward  them  a  little  way  off,  and  she  suddenly 
exclaimed,  "Oh,  here  comes  mother.  We  will 
have  to  part.  Where  can  I  meet  you  again?" 

141 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"Meet  me  to-morrow  afternoon  at  Mr. 
Foghorn's  office,"  said  Harry. 

To  this  she  agreed,  and  by  that  time  Mrs. 
Jinks  had  arrived.  Elizabeth  Stuart  Jinks 
had  a  slim,  lean  countenance,  and  a  thin,  spare 
frame.  Her  high  cheek  bones  were  crowned 
by  an  irregular  hectic  flush.  Her  nose  was 
slightly  crooked,  after  the  Roman  pattern, 
and  its  nostrils  and  tip  end  were  so  full  of  red 
veins,  that  they  looked  as  if  they  might  snort 
fire  at  any  moment.  Her  air  and  gait  were 
lofty,  and  her  whole  manner  indicated  her 
great  contempt  for  Harry,  and  her  high  dis- 
pleasure in  thus  finding  him  with  her  daugh- 
ter by  the  lake  shore.  She  gave  him  a  wither- 
ing glance  as  she  said : 

"Harry  Hawkins,  what  business  have  you 
snooping  around  after  my  daughter?  Why 
don't  you  go  after  some  other  girl  where 
you  are  wanted  ?  Jennie  is  a  lady,  and  for  her 
to  keep  company  with  such  a  person  is  ridicu- 
lous." 

This  was  too  much  for  Harry.  He  had  a 
proud  spirit  and  felt  the  insult  keenly.  His 
lips  trembled  and  his  eyes  darted  fire  at  Mrs. 
Jinks,  as  he  quickly  replied: 

"Jennie  is  a  lady,  and  in  that  respect  she 

142 


A  Strange  Flaw 

does  not  in  the  least  resemble  her  mother. 
If  she  took  after  you  in  any  way,  she  would 
never  be  troubled  by  me." 

"You  may  be  sure  she  does,"  continued 
Madam  Jinks,  "for  she  is  my  child,  and  a 
part  of  my  flesh  and  blood.  Why  don't  you 
leave  her  alone  and  go  and  marry  someone 
else?" 

"Why  didn't  Mr.  Jinks  marry  someone 
else?"  asked  Harry. 

"I  wish  to  the  Lord  he  had,"  replied  Mrs. 
Jinks,  "for  then  I  would  have  been  saved  this 
trouble.  I  would  rather  see  my  daughter  laid 
in  the  grave  than  to  have  her  become  a  mem- 
ber of  your  family.  To  think  that  my  daugh- 
ter should  be  so  humiliated  as  to  be  obliged 
to  recognize  your  mother  as  hers  would  kill 
me  outright." 

To  hear  his  mother  thus  spoken  of  hurt 
him  more  than  what  she  had  said  about  him- 
self, and  he  straightened  up  to  his  full  height 
and  looked  down  on  her  with  a  scornful  and 
defiant  glance  as  he  retorted  angrily: 

"Madam,  you  can  say  what  you  please 
about  me,  but  don't  you  have  the  audacity  to 
slander  my  mother.  I  will  not  stand  it.  My 
mother  is  a  good  woman,  and  she  has  worked 

143 


A  Strange  Flaw 

hard  all  her  life  to  earn  an  honest  living  for 
herself  and  me,  and  I  am  proud  of  her,  and 
I  do  not  propose  to  stand  and  hear  her  abused 
by  you  or  anyone  else  without. resenting  it." 

"Why,  Harry,"  interrupted  Jennie,  "how 
can  you  talk  so  to  my  mother?" 

"Excuse  me,  Jennie,"  said  Harry,  cooling 
down  a  little.  "In  my  anger  I  forgot  that 
she  is  your  mother.  For  your  sake  I  retract 
what  I  have  said,  but  she  has  treated  me  so 
shamefully  that  I  can  hardly  believe  that  she 
is  your  mother." 

"Jennie,  come  right  home  with  me  and  let 
him  go  off  about  his  business,"  said  Mrs. 
Jinks  as  she  took  her  daughter  by  the  arm 
and  led  her  away. 

When  Harry  saw  mother  and  daughter  dis- 
appear in  the  path  leading  into  the  leafy 
woods,  disappointment  and  wrath  alternately 
raged  within  him.  He  stood  in  almost  blank 
amazement  for  a  few  moments,  until  he  could 
determine  what  to  do.  He  asked  himself, 
how  could  such  a  hyena  be  the  mother  of  such 
a  lamb?  Why  should  such  sweet  fruit  grow 
on  such  thorny  briars?  Strange  freak  of  na- 
ture that  a  devil  incarnate  should  give  birth 
to  such  an  angel. 

144 


A  Strange  Flaw 

On  the  following  day  Jennie  went  to  Fog- 
horn's office  to  see  Harry.  While  going  she 
met  Mr.  Bragg.  He  stopped  her  and  they 
talked  on  the  sidewalk  a  few  moments.  She 
told  him  she  was  in  a  hurry,  and  somehow  he 
was  curious  enough' to  take  notice  of  where 
she  went  and  wondered  why  she  should  go  to 
Foghorn's  office.  Passing  a  little  further  on 
the  street,  soon  afterwards,  he  met  Mrs. 
Jinks.  She  had  missed  Jennie,  and  fearing 
she  had  gone  somewhere  to  meet  Harry,  had 
started  in  pursuit.  She  inquired  of  Mr.  Bragg 
if  he  had  seen  her,  and  he  told  her  that  he 
had.  seen  Jennie  go  into  Foghorn's  office 
a  few  moments  before.  She  had  heard  of 
Harry's  entering  Foghorn's  office  to  study 
law,  and  took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance. 
She  flew  into  a  frenzy  of  passion,  and  vowed 
she  would  shoot  Foghorn  and  Hawkins  and 
send  her  daughter  to  a  nunnery  before  the 
name  of  Jinks  should  be  disgraced  by  a  mar- 
riage with  Hawkins.  She  started  at  once  for 
Foghorn's  office,  sawing  the  air  with  her 
clenched  fist  as  she  proceeded. 

When  Jennie  arrived  at  the  office  she  found 
Mr.  Foghorn  alone,  busy  writing  at  his  desk. 
Harry  had  not  yet  arrived.  She  was  well 

145 


A  Strange  Flaw 

acquainted  with  Foghorn,  and  upon  more 
than  one  occasion  had  reason  to  look  upon 
his  as  a  friend.  His  straightforward,  manly 
honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose  caused  her 
to  excuse  his  somewhat  rough  and  stern  de- 
meanor. So,  after  inquiring  for  Harry,  she 
related  to  him  an  account  of  her  relations  with 
Harry,  her  parents'  displeasure,  her  associa- 
tions with  Bragg  and  the  wishes  of  her  par- 
ents, and  asked  his  advice.  Foghorn  hesi- 
tated, and  then  said : 

"Has  Harry  given  you  a  reason  to  break 
your  promise  to  him  ?" 

"None,  except  I  fear  that  I  would  never 
be  contented  as  his  wife,"  she  answered. 

"Then,  your  question  is,  whether  you  ought 
to  break  your  engagement  with  Harry  and 
marry  Bragg,  if  opportunity  offers,  because 
of  his  position  and  wealth  and  the  desire  of 
your  parents,"  said  Foghorn. 

"That  is  it,"  she  replied. 

"My  answer  is,  no,"  said  he.  "Suppose 
Bragg  is  rich ;  would  you  trade  honor  for  dis- 
honor, worth  for  wealth,  purity  for  power, 
and  then  not  get  them?  If  Bragg  is  rich  and 
powerful  and  you  marry  him,  it  does  not  fol- 
low that  you  will  be  rich  and  powerful,  too. 

146 


A   Strange   Flaw 

Your  poverty  will  not  be  swallowed  up  by 
his  splendor,  your  weakness  will  not  be  lost 
in  his  power,  your  insignificance  will  not  be 
buried  by  his  importance.  When  the  strong 
and  the  weak,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  high 
and  the  low  live  together  they  live  in  the  re- 
lation of  master  and  slave.  As  well  enter  the 
close  confines  of  a  Turkish  harem  and  serve 
the  beck  and  nod  of  a  tyrant,  or  be  a  prince's 
mistress  and  creep  to  his  caprice,  as  wed  a 
man  in  wealth  and  power  vastly  your  supe- 
rior. If  you  must  serve,  'tis  better  to  serve 
a  peasant  than  a  prince.  Your  master's  wrath 
will  fall  the  heavier  as  you  are  weak  and  he 
is  powerful.  If  you  must  be  poor,  'tis  better 
to  be  poor  amid  poverty  than  splendor.  Pov- 
erty looks  worse  when  near  the  blaze  of 
wealth;  that  is,  supposing  Bragg  to  be  rich, 
which  is  a  dangerous  supposition  without  see- 
ing his  title  deeds." 

At  this  point  Harry  came  in,  and  with 
Jennie,  retired  to  the  consultation  room.  She 
then  related  to  him,  amid  great  professions 
of  affection,  the  story  of  her  associations  with 
Bragg,  and  the  overtures  of  her  parents,  and 
asked  him  what  she  should  do.  Harry  lis- 
tened patiently,  and  then  said  with  much  emo- 

147 


A  Strange  Flaw 

tlon:  "Jennie,  you  know  what  I  have  to  offer, 
the  first  love  of  a  boy's  heart,  and  all  that  I 
can  do  or  be  in  the  future  for  your  happiness. 
You  know  Mr.  Bragg  and  what  he  has  to 
offer.  I  release  you  from  the  obligation  of 
all  the  vows  and  promises  you  have  made. 
Think  over  the  matter  when  you  are  alone 
and  uninfluenced  by  my  presence;  pray  over 
it  and  choose  between  us.  If  you  choose  to 
link  your  life  with  mine,  I  will  do  my  best  to 
make  you  happy.  If  you  conclude  to  go  with 
Mr.  Bragg  I  will  never  trouble  you.  Only 
be  true  with  me,  and  though  it  tears  my  heart 
out,  I  will  patiently  abide  by  your  decision." 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  a  terrible  blus- 
ter, caused  by  the  entrance  of  Madam  Jinks. 
Madam  Jinks  advanced  to  Foghorn  and 
shook  her  clenched  fist  in  his  face  as  she  said : 

"Oh,  you  lean,  lank  lizard.  Where  is  my 
daughter?  You've  crept  like  a  slimy  snake 
into  the  bosom  of  my  family  to  poison  my 
domestic  life.  How  dare  you  thus  interfere 
with  other  people's  business?  If  you  ever 
poke  your  crab-faced  visage  into  my  affairs 
again,  I  will  macerate  and  mangle  it  into 
mincemeat.  If  I  had  a  man's  strength  I 
would  now  pound  and  pummel  your  dried 

148 


A  Strange  Flaw 

carcass  until  it  became  as  tender  as  new  veal. 
Where  is  my  daughter?  I  say." 

Mr.  Foghorn  was  writing  when  she  came 
in.  He  merely  looked  up  to  see  who  it  was, 
and  then  kept  on  writing,  apparently  paying 
no  regard  to  what  she  was  saying.  After  she 
had  emptied  the  vials  of  her  wrath,  and  be- 
gan to  get  a  little  faint,  he  told  her  to  take  a 
seat,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  the  sen- 
tence he  was  writing,  he  would  talk  with  her. 
When  the  sentence  was  done,  he  wiped  his 
pen,  laid  it  down,  took  off  his  spectacles, 
turned  to  her  coolly  and  said : 

"Madam,  forty  years  ago,  when  I  began 
the  practice  of  the  law,  you  were  a  mewling 
infant.  Born  in  a  country  where  the  first 
principles  of  human  liberty  are  unknown,  and 
poisoned  in  your  youth  by  the  foolish  fal- 
lacies of  aristocratic  robbers,  I  look  with  char- 
ity and  pity  upon  your  weak  and  pointless 
wrath.  Knowing,  as  I  do,  how  great  and 
earnest  a  struggle  it  requires  for  the  mind  of 
a  barbarian  to  breed  even  an  absurdity,  I  can- 
not find  fault  with  your  erroneous  conclusions. 
You  have  some  energy,  else  you  would  not 
have  made  such  a  bluster.  It  will  help  you 
to  get  along  with  natural  dullness.  Study 
149 


A  Strange  Flaw 

patiently  the  laws  and  constitution  of  our 
government,  and  the  current  literature  of  the 
day,  and  you  will  overcome,  in  a  measure, 
your  natural  stupidity  and  the  influence  of  the 
falsehoods  taught  you  in  your  youth." 

"My  daughter  marry  a  gawkey,  a  gump !" 
ejaculated  Mrs.  Jinks. 

"It  is  useless,"  continued  Foghorn,  "for 
me  to  spend  my  time  in  talking  to  you  in  the 
present  feeble  condition  of  your  intellect. 
Study  until  you  learn  the  alphabet,  and  I  will 
then  teach  you  the  words.  I  want  it  under- 
stood that  I  care  not  for  what  you  have  said, 
but  I  must  request  you  to  leave  my  office,  and 
not  take  up  my  time  further." 

Madam  Jinks  was  mad  and  frantic,  but  the 
cool,  unruffled  manner  of  Foghorn  cowed  her. 
After  demanding  her  daughter  again,  and 
making  a  few  threats,  she  left.  Harry  and 
Jennie  then  came  out  of  the  consultation 
room,  and  she  went  home,  agreeing  to  ponder 
and  pray  over  the  matter,  and  decide  what 
she  should  do,  and  let  him  know  the  result. 


A   Strange   Flaw 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  PROPOSAL 

Meanwhile  the  canvass  for  stockholders 
for  the  new  railroad  went  busily  on.  The 
stock  was  considered  very  valuable,  because 
everybody  had  it,  which  was  a  much  better 
reason  to  consider  it  worthless.  After  every 
man  in  the  county  had  pledged  himself  to 
take  all  the  stock  he  could  pay  for,  and  a 
much  larger  amount  was  raised  than  neces- 
sary to  grade,  bridge  and  tie  the  road,  Bronze 
went  to  Bragg  and  said: 

"Now  we  are  ready  to  start  the  tax  propo- 
sition. We  have  done  all  we  can  to  get  the 
property  owners  to  help  us,  and  we  have  suc- 
ceeded well.  We  have  squeezed,  fleeced  and 
skinned  them  by  persuasion,  and  now  we  must 
take  their  kidney  lard  by  compulsion.  Those 
who  have  no  property  are  anxious  to  have  a 
railroad,  so  that  they  can  get  work  on  it,  but 
are  unable  to  take  stock.  They  will  be  per- 
fectly willing  to  vote  a  tax  on  the  taxpayers. 


A   Strange   Flaw 

I  have  had  a  surveyor  estimate  that  it  will 
cost  much  more  to  grade  the  road  than  the 
stock  taken,  and  now  we  must  go  to  the  people 
through  the  newspapers,  the  pulpit,  and  the 
rostrum,  and  tell  them  that  something  should 
be  done  to  raise  the  required  amount,  or  the 
project  will  be  abandoned,  and  they  will 
rather  vote  a  five  per  cent  tax  than  let  it 
stop." 

"I  am  afraid  that  we  have  exhausted  the 
people  already,"  said  Bragg. 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  Bronze,  "there  is  no  bot- 
tom to  the  gullibility  of  the  people." 

Bronze  was  right.  The  tax  question  was 
agitated  successfully.  The  Lyer  Bros,  advo- 
cated it  in  the  "Fountain  of  Truth."  Rev. 
Goodman  prayed  and  preached  for  it  in  the 
pulpit,  and  all  the  committee,  who  had  so 
far  worked  to  procure  stock  subscription, 
worked  in  their  particular  spheres  for  the  tax, 
and  the  result  was  an  overwhelming  majority 
for  it.  And  so,  a  five  per  cent  tax  was  levied 
on  the  taxable  property.  Old  men,  bent  and 
decrepit  by  a'  career  of  toil,  in  life's  dreary 
winter,  widows  surrounded  by  orphan  chil- 
dren crying  for  food,  washerwomen  in  rags, 
wasted,  worn  to  skin  and  bone,  with  despair- 

152 


A  Strange   Flaw 

ing  and  drooping  hearts,  ready  to  die,  luna- 
tics in  the  asylums,  infants  in  their  cradles, 
the  lame,  the  halt,  the  blind,  the  unfortunate, 
wherever  industry,  economy  or  charity  had 
husbanded  a  cent  to  provide  for  a  day  of  mis- 
fortune, all  had  to  contribute  to  this  railroad 
building  fund.  It  would  be  difficult  to  tell 
of  the  enthusiasm  with  which  this  tax  was 
voted.  It  would  be  hard  to  relate,  and  dis- 
tressing to  read,  of  the  groans  of  anguish  and 
despairing  cries  of  the  unfortunate  poor,  and 
the  oaths  and  curses  of  the  infuriated  rich 
when  the  tax  was  collected  and  paid.  When 
the  road  came  to  be  surveyed  and  located, 
the  Hawkins  family  met  with  an  additional 
grief.  It  was  decided  that  the  road  should 
run  through  the  old  homestead  up  the  pleas- 
ant valley,  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  tear 
down  the  dwelling,  cut  down  the  trees  that 
adorned  the  beautiful  grass  plot  around  it, 
and  utterly  annihilate  its  beauty  and  desira- 
bility as  a  home. 

When  Timothy  Bronze  came  out  one  day 
and  told  Mrs.  Hawkins  that  they  would  have 
to  run  the  railroad  right  through  where  her 
residence  then  stood  she  told  him  that  no  rail- 

153 


A   Strange   Flaw 

road  should  run  through  there  while  she  lived. 
And  when  Mr.  Bronze  said  that  she  would 
have  to  sell  to  the  company  at  their  figures, 
or  they  would  have  it  appraised  and  con- 
demned, she  took  an  ax  and  invited  Timothy 
tcf  leave  the  premises,  which  he  accordingly 
did.  The  next  person  who  appeared  was  the 
sheriff,  with  a  jury  made  to  order,  from  Lit- 
tletown>  who  were  all  either  directly  or  indi- 
rectly interested  in  the  projected  road,  and 
they  assessed  the  damage  at  $200,  and  the 
amount  was  applied  in  part  payment  on  the 
stock  subscribed  by  Mrs.  Hawkins.  A  con- 
struction company  was  then  organized,  in 
which  Timothy  Bronze,  Rev.  Goodman, 
Hans  Dummeldeutche,  H.  E.  Q.  Grip,  R. 
Gospel  Windysoul,  Dr.  Waters,  the  Lyer 
Bros.,  and  others  who  had  aided  in  raising 
the  stock,  were  prominent  members,  and  the 
Sound  and  Reliable  Railroad  Company, 
through  Henderson  Bragg,  contracted  with 
them  to  build  the  road  at  such  figures  as  would 
amply  pay  them,  not  only  for  the  work,  but 
for  what  they  had  done  to  assist  the  enter- 
prise. These  men  divided  up  the  job  and  let 
it  to  sub-contractors  who  were  irresponsible, 
and  who  took  the  contract  at  a  low  rate,  ex- 

154 


A  Strange   Flaw 

pecting  not  to  pay  their  workmen  where  they 
could  possibly  avoid  it,  or  pay  them  with  or- 
ders on  merchants,  and  then  cheat  the  mer- 
chants out  of  their  pay.  The  extent  to  which 
this  was  done  was  amazing.  When  Bragg 
and  Bronze  had  got  everything  in  good  work- 
ing order  in  Littletown  they  went  to  other 
towns  and  counties  and  workecj  up  the  people, 
and  carried  out  the  scheme  in  substantially 
the  same  manner  as  in  Littletown.  Some  lit- 
tle aggravation  arose  in  the  matter  of  the 
location  of  the  depot.  Timothy  Bronze 
owned  forty  acres  of  land  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  from  Littletown,  and  he  induced 
the  company  to  put  its  depot  on  his  forty, 
by  giving  them  a  handsome  slice  of  it.  This 
diverted  the  benefits  of  the  railroad  to  that 
forty,  and,  in  the  future,  caused  the  principal 
business  places  to  move  down  onto  that  tract, 
and  the  place  where  Littletown  originally 
stood  was  reduced  back  to  agricultural  land, 
thereby  rewarding  the  property  holders  for 
their  aid  in  constructing  the  road.  The  work 
of  building  the  railroad  finally  began  in  ear- 
nest and  went  briskly  on.  Some  of  the  stock- 
holders turned  their  lean  backs  to  the  blazing 
sun  and  worked  on  through  the  long,  hot  sum- 

155 


A   Strange   Flaw 

mer  days,  grading  to  pay  for  their  stock; 
others  sold  or  mortgaged  their  property,  and 
many  did  both. 

Harry  Hawkins  left  his  studies,  neglected 
the  farm,  and  part  of  the  time  handled  a 
scraper  with  a  team,  and  part  of  the  time 
shoveled  gravel,  to  save  the  homestead  from 
being  sold  at  a  sacrifice  to  pay  for  the  stock 
his  mother  had  unwittingly  subscribed.  Along 
in  the  hazy  autumn  the  grading  was  finished, 
the  bridges  were  built  and  the  ties  were  cut 
and  laid  ready  for  the  iron. 

We  will  now  return  to  Jennie.  Since  the 
interview  in  Foghorn's  office,  she  had  often 
met  both  Mr.  Bragg  and  Harry.  Bragg 
showed  her  great  attention  on  all  occasions, 
and  gave  many  indications  of  love,  and 
Harry  showed  on  his  face  unmistakable  signs 
of  the  pain  she  was  giving  him  by  her  inde- 
cision, but  she  still  remained  undecided. 
Bragg  had  not  yet  proposed,  and  it  looked  as 
if  he  did  not  intend  to,  but  was  only  flirting 
with  her,  hence  she  did  not  feel  like  giving 
up  Harry  altogether,  but  chose  rather  to  keep 
him  on  the  ragged  edge  between  hope  and 
despair,  and  await  further  developments. 
This  was  cruel  to  Harry,  but  circumstances 

156 


A  Strange   Flaw 

seemed  to  force  it  upon  her.  But  when  the 
Autumn  came  and  business  began  to  relax  in 
railroad  building,  one  beautiful  afternoon  in 
October,  Mr.  Bragg  drove  up  with  a  carriage 
and  invited  her  to  go  for  a  ride.  She  gladly 
accepted  the  invitation,  and  before  she  started 
her  mother,  who  had  also  become  a  little  tired 
of  Bragg's  reticence,  admonished  her  to  make 
him  commit  himself  if  possible.  It  was  a 
lovely  day,  and  just  warm  enough  to  be  pleas- 
ant. The  broad  sun  beamed  through  a  light 
haze,  like  an  immense  ball  of  glittering  gold. 
Its  yellow  light  fell  upon  a  mild  and  beau- 
teous scene.  The  green  mantle  of  the  earth 
had  changed  to  purple  and  gold,  the  fair  fo- 
liage blossomed  out  in  its  gayest  attire,  and 
the  landscape  looked  one  immense  garden  of 
the  loveliest  of  flowers.  As  they  rode  together 
through  the  yellow  woods  they  seemed  sur- 
rounded by  a  perfect  paradise  of  dying  glory. 
Bragg  had  fed  so  long  upon  the  fresh  air  and 
the  wholesome  food  of  the  west  that  this  mel- 
low Autumn  filled  his  soul  with  a  dreamy  and 
fond  desire.  Nor  was  Jennie  insensible  to 
the  charms  of  the  occasion.  While  they  were 
riding  he  said: 

"How  softly  the  Autumn  sunlight  kisses  the 

157 


A  Strange   Flaw 

golden  maples,  and  streams  among  the  leaf- 
lets. How  bright  and  beautiful  are  the  death 
robes  of  the  forest.  Yet,  from  its  gay  colors 
there  reflects  to  my  heart  a  sweet  sadness. 
Each  falling  leaflet,  in  its  little  circles  down- 
ward, admonishes  us  of  the  brevity  of  life, 
and  there  breathes  a  whisper  from  out  the 
depths  of  the  forest  warning  us  to  cling  closer 
to  each  other,  for  time  is  fleeting  and  friends 
must  part.  Draw  near  me,  darling,"  he  said, 
as  his  arm  gently  encircled  her  waist,  "while 
I  tell  you  how  intensely  happy  I  am  to  be 
with  you  again.  For  many  years  my  soul, 
like  a  little  dove,  has  been  searching  the  earth, 
longing  and  yearning  for  a  mate,  some  dear, 
sweet  friend  like  you.  Dearest,  where  have 
you  been  all  these  long  years  that  I  could  not 
find  you  before?  'Twas  a  blessed  time  that 
saw  us  meet.  'Twill  be  a  day  most  sad  when 
we  must  part.  But  all  must  part.  The  little 
leaflets,  parted  from  the  bough  that  gave  them 
birth,  lie  scattered  on  the  ground.  See  yon 
proud  oak  whose  strength  defies  the  storm. 
Where  lies  the  acorn  that  did  breed  that  oak, 
and  where  the  oak  that  acorn  bore?  Gone 
with  the  mist  of  vanished  shadows.  The  past 
is  gone,  the  future  may  not  come,  to-day  is 

158 


A  Strange   Flaw 

ours.  Then,  darling,  let  me  kiss  your  bloom- 
ing lips  before  a  frost  shall  come  and  make 
them  pale." 

Closely  he  folded  her  in  his  arms  and 
kissed  her.  She  slightly  resisted. 

"I  do  not  like  to  think  of  parting,"  she 
said. 

"No,  darling,  I  can  not  leave  you  thus," 
he  replied.  "The  Winter's  cold  of  this  inclem- 
ent clime  might  chill  my  pet  and  steal  her 
loveliness.  I'll  take  thee  to  some  perfumed 
isle  that  basks  in  sunlight,  in  a  southern  sea, 
where  Summer  blooms  eternal,  and  flowerets 
never  die,  and  sorrows  never  come.  We'll 
build  our  palace  in  an  orange  grove  close  to 
the  shimmering  sea,  where  sweet-voiced  birds 
may  come  and  sing  their  songs  of  love. 
There  where  the  sea  breeze  wooes  the  flowery 
isle  and  scatters  odors  far  and  near,  we'll 
dwell  embraced  in  bliss.  And  when  the  matin 
birds  shall  greet  the  dawn  and  the  red  sun 
rolls  above  the  wave  we'll  rise  refreshed  from 
soft  and  peaceful  sleep,  and,  arm  in  arm, 
stroll  forth  and  drink  the  morning's  fragrant 
breath,  to  get  a  relish  for  our  morning  feast. 
We'll  dine  on  choicest  viands,  and  through 
the  long,  bright  days,  we'll  sit  embowered  in 

159 


A  Strange  Flaw 

shade,  and  hear  the  waters  murmur,  and 
watch  the  sunlight  dance  upon  the  crested 
waves.  There,  far  from  the  cold  of  northern 
climes,"  remote  from  strife  and  toil,  we'll  read 
and  talk  of  love  and  days  when  love  was  born, 
from  morn  till  dewy  eve.  And  often,  when 
the  moonlight  makes  a  silver  sea,  our  songs 
of  joy  shall  climb  to  heaven  upon  the  per- 
fumed air.  We  then  will  have  no  further 
thought  of  pain  save  that  it's  past.  No  wish 
that  is  not  fully  gratified.  Oh,  darling,  will 
you  be  my  little  wife?" 

"I  can  not  tell  you  now,  but  I  will  pray 
over  it,  and  talk  to  father  and  mother,  and 
let  you  know  some  day,"  she  said. 

"Oh,  let  me  know  my  fate  to-morrow,"  he 
replied. 

"Perhaps  to-morrow,"  she  said. 

And  thus  they  chatted  on  till  the  afternoon 
had  fled,  and  in  the  dusk  of  evening  they  re- 
turned. Shortly  after  tea  that  evening,  Jen- 
nie retired  to  her  room  to  think  over  the 
events  of  the  day,  and  decide  what  to  do. 
It  was  no  easy  task.  She  could  not  bear  the 
thought  of  leaving  Harry  and  giving  up  all 
the  hopes  she  had  cherished  of  happiness  with 
him,  but  her  parents'  opposition,  his  poverty, 

160 


A  Strange   Flaw 

her  helplessness,  all  made  the  way  look  dark 
and  drear.  'Twas  a  lovely  sight  to  see  her 
there  struggling  with  this,  the  greatest  ques- 
tion of  a  girl's  life,  her  fair,  white  forehead 
bowed  upon  her  hands,  her  glossy  curls  hang- 
ing around  her  shapely  head  and  neck,  and 
her  loosely  fitting  dress  half  revealing  her 
graceful  form.  "What  shall  I  do?"  she 
asked  herself,  again  and  again.  And  seizing 
a  pencil  wrote : 

Two  sighing  lovers  seek  my  hand, 
One  offers  me  a  palace  grand, 
Enshrined  within  a  fairy  land; 

And  one  an  humble  cot, 
Where  poverty  and  want  and  care 
And  toil  and  solitude  prepare 
For  all  who  choose  to  enter  there, 

A  very  dreary  lot. 

Which  shall  I  choose 
And  which  refuse? 

Two  paths  appear  before  mine  eyes, 
One  leads  where  flowers  of  heavenly  dyes 
Look  meekly  up  to  smiling  skies 

And  perfumes  fill  the  air; 
And  one  where  want  and  hunger  wait 

161 


A  Strange   Flaw 

To  greet  the  traveler  at  the  gate, 
'Mid  highlands  bleak  and  desolate, 
And  hedges  brown  and  bare. 

Which  shall  I  choose 

And  which  refuse? 

Two  winged  vessels  catch  the  breeze, 
One  soon  will  sail  o'er  balmy  seas 
To  blessed  isles  where  joy  and  ease 

With  love  and  beauty  dwell; 
The  other  to  a  frozen  zone, 
Where  icebergs  creak  and  breakers  moan 
'Gainst  barren  shores  of  jagged  stone, 

A  horrid  funeral  knell. 
Which  shall  I  choose 
And  which  refuse  ? 

While  she  was  thus  engaged  her  mother 
appeared  and  said: 

"Daughter,  did  Mr.  Bragg  propose  to- 
day?" 

"Yes,  mother." 

"Did  you  accept  him?" 

"No,  mother,  I  did  not.  I  told  him  I 
would  give  him  my  answer  to-morrow." 

"My  child,  you  should  be  very  happy. 
Just  think  of  your  marrying  such  a  fine,  rich 

162 


A   Strange   Flaw 

gentleman  as  Mr.  Bragg.  How  jealous  all 
the  girls  will  be,  and  everyone  in  Littletown 
will  envy  you.  You  should  be  thankful  to 
me  for  keeping  you  from  throwing  yourself 
away  upon  that  Hawkins.  You  now  see  how 
foolish  you  were." 

"But,  mother,  I  love  Harry." 

"Love!  Nonsense.  You  might  as  well 
fall  in  love  with  an  iceberg  and  freeze  in  its 
embrace,  as  to  fall  in  love  with  a  beggar  and 
starve.  Make  sure  of  your  own  happiness 
for  life,  and  the  ease  and  comfort  of  your 
parents,  who  have  watched  over  and  loved 
you  as  their  only  daughter  for  so  many  years. 
How  proud  and  happy  you  will  make  us  both 
by  becoming  the  wife  of  the  great  railroad 
magnate.  The  idea  !  Think  how  the  account 
will  read  in  the  great  daily  papers,  of  the 
gorgeous  wedding  of  the  Hon.  Henderson 
Bragg,  President  of  the  Sound  and  Reliable 
Railroad  Company,  and  Miss  Jennie  Jinks, 
the  beautiful  and  accomplished  daughter  of 
Oliver  Cromwell  and  Elizabeth  Stuart  Jinks, 
of  Littletown.  And  then  the  wedding  tour. 
Why,  child,  it  almost  sets  me  wild  to  think 
of  it.  I  so  long  for  the  happy  day.  You 

163 


A  Strange  Flaw 

surely  will  accept  him  to  please  your  father 
and  mother." 

"Yes,  mother,  I  will,"  she  said. 

She  had  been  pressed  beyond  endurance. 
All  the  reasons  and  inducements  seemed  to  be 
on  one  side,  but  her  heart  still  shuddered  to 
think  of  giving  up  Harry.  She  could  not 
tell  him  of  her  decision.  The  next  morning 
when  Bragg  came,  she  gave  him  her  answer. 
He  appeared  to  be  very  much  affected  by  it. 
But  when  she  spoke  of  the  arrangements  for 
their  marriage  he,  realizing  that  she  was  irt 
love  with  another  and  was  being  forced  into 
this  step  by  her  parents  on  account  of  his  sup- 
posed wealth,  concluded  to  put  the  matter  off 
as  long  as  possible,  and  so  putting  his  arm 
around  her,  softly  said: 

"Darling,  I  have  a  great  secret  which,  now 
that  you  are  going  to  be  my  wife,  I  will  re- 
veal to  you.  A  few  years  ago  a  very  beau- 
tiful Spanish  heiress  fell  desperately  in  love 
with  me,  and  was  determined  that  I  should 
marry  her.  I  did  not  love  her,  and  so  re- 
fused. She  followed  me  day  and  night  and 
her  presence  hung  like  a  black  cloud  over  my 
existence.  At  last,  one  day,  she  drugged  my 
coffee  so  as  to  make  me  insensible,  and  while 

164 


A  Strange   Flaw 

in  that  condition  she  paid  a  justice  of  the 
peace  to  reel  me  through  a  marriage  cere- 
mony. Of  course,  when  I  came  to  my  senses, 
I  refused  to  recognize  her  as  my  wife,  and 
immediately  brought  a  suit  to  annul  the  mar- 
riage. That  suit  came  up  in  court  the  other 
day  and  she,  failing  to  appear,  was  declared 
in  default,  and  the  case  is  waiting  for  me  to 
come  and  testify  to  the  facts,  in  order  to  get 
the  decree.  When  the  decree  is  entered  I 
will  return  for  you." 

Her  credulity  devoured  this  yarn,  and  thus 
they  parted.  Did  Bragg  intend  to  return  and 
marry  Jennie?  That  is  another  question.  So 
far  he  had  proceeded  only  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  in  Duncan's  scheme.  He  saw  her 
guileful  parents  had  framed  a  net  to  catch 
and  fleece  him  of  his  imaginary  wealth,  using 
this  girl  as  their  decoy,  and  there  seemed  no 
better  way  than  the  one  adopted  to  hold  their 
allegiance  until  such  a  time  as  he  could  do 
without  the  influence  of  Oliver  Cromwell 
Jinks.  If,  when  she  knew  the  real  facts,  she 
should  wish  to  marry  him,  he  doubtless  would 
gladly  fulfil  his  promise. 

The  road-bed  was  now  built  and  the  first 
half  of  the  scheme  consummated.  It  was  now 

165 


A  Strange  Flaw 

necessary  that  Bragg  should  leave  and  Dun- 
can should  appear  to  engineer  the  remainder. 
The  people  were  chagrined  at  the  stoppage 
of  the  work  on  the  railroad,  but  Bragg  al- 
layed their  discontent  by  stating  that  the  iron 
was  coming  from  England,  and  fearful  storms 
had  delayed  it.  On  the  morning  of  Bragg's 
departure  a  large  crowd  gathered  at  the  hotel. 
Harry  Hawkins  was  among  them,  and  when 
he  saw  Bragg  get  into  the  stage  and  the 
horses  trot  away,  he  felt  a  great  relief.  The 
plague  that  had  so  long  galled  him  had  gone, 
and  he  hoped  for  the  return  of  the  happy 
days  spent  with  Jennie  before  Bragg  had 
come.  Shortly  after  that  he  saw  her  on  the 
street  and  went  to  her.  When  she  saw  him 
she  was  much  flurried,  and  told  him  she  was 
in  a  great  hurry.  He  asked  her  to  set  a  time 
and  place  when  he  could  see  her.  This  she 
declined  to  do,  wishing  to  avoid  the  embar- 
rassment which  it  would  give  her  to  tell  him 
that  she  had  engaged  herself  to  another.  But 
her  parents  were  not  long  in  making  the  fact 
public,  and  the  crushing  news  so  shocked 
Harry  that,  for  a  time,  it  was  feared  he  would 
lose  his  reason.  But  Bragg  had  gone,  and, 

166 


A  Strange  Flaw 

if  Foghorn's  suspicions  were  true,  he  might 
never  return,  so  the  young  lover  still  hoped 
that  something  might  occur  to  relieve  him  of 
his  successful  rival. 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  LEGISLATURE 

As  soon  as  Bragg  arrived  in  New  York, 
he  hurried  to  the  office  of  John  Duncan  to 
make  a  report  of  his  doings.  There  he  found 
him  alone  in  his  room  in  deep  study  on  a 
canal  project.  He  was  contriving  to  get  the 
United  States  to  build  a  canal  and  give  it  to 
him.  Before  him,  on  a  table,  he  had  a  map 
of  the  United  States,  a  biographical  sketch 
of  each  member  of  Congress,  and  of  those 
who  were  supposed  to  own  or  influence  them. 
He  had  also  the  laws  punishing  and  defining 
bribery,  and  the  decision  of  courts  interpret- 
ing those  laws;  also  a  list  of  the  newspapers 
in  the  United  States  and  of  the  dates  of  hold- 
ing congressional  conventions  and  senatorial 
elections.  After  Bragg  had  told  him  of  his 
success  in  the  west,  Duncan  said: 

"The  time  has  then  come  for  the  Sound 
and  Reliable  Railroad  Company  to  fail.  I 
have  the  Skunk  Creek  and  Skeighi  Railroad 

168 


A  Strange   Flaw 

Company  already  organized  and  the  mort- 
gage ready  to  sign  on  the  road,  as  far  as 
built." 

"We  must  go  on  with  the  work  imme- 
diately," replied  Bragg,  "or  the  people  will 
lose  confidence  in  me." 

"Just  what  we  want,  exactly,"  said  Dun- 
can. "Let  them  lose  confidence  in  you,  you 
need  not  go  out  again.  I  will  go  there  and 
convince  them  that  you  are  the  worst  rascal 
unhung." 

"That  will  not  be  difficult  to  do,"  answered 
Bragg. 

"In  that  way  I  can  convince  them  that  the 
Sound  and  Reliable  Railroad  Company  is  in- 
solvent and  has  been  obliged  to  mortgage  the 
road-bed  to  put  on  the  engines  and  iron,  and 
I  can  then  get  the  land  grant  from  the  legis- 
lature and  sell  sufficient  to  finish  the  road." 

"There  is  an  old  lawyer  out  there  in  Little- 
town,  by  the  name  of  Foghorn;  you  want  to 
avoid  him.  He  gave  me  lots  of  trouble  and 
he  may  you,"  said  Bragg. 

Thus  the  conversation  continued.  A  mort- 
gage was  signed  by  the  Sound  and  Reliable 
Railroad  Company,  mortgaging  the  road 
built  to  the  Skunk  Creek  and  Skeighi  Rail- 

169 


A  Strange   Flaw 

road  Company,  to  secure  five  million  dollars, 
to  be  expended  by  the  last  named  company  in 
putting  on  the  iron,  rolling  stock  and  equip- 
ments necessary  to  get  the  line  in  operation. 
The  next  day  Duncan  started  for  Littletown. 

To  secure  such  a  public  sentiment  as  would 
give  him  a  land  grant  he  concluded  to  arouse 
the  energies  of  the  friends  of  the  road.  From 
what  he  had  heard  of  Foghorn  he  concluded 
that  he  might  be  converted  into  an  important 
tool,  so  called  at  his  office  at  once  and  found 
him  at  his  desk.  Hawkins  was  also  in  the 
room. 

"Are  you  Mr.  Foghorn?"  inquired  Dun- 
can. 

"I  am,"  he  answered. 

"I  wish  to  consult  you  relative  to  a  mort- 
gage that  I  hold,"  continued  Duncan,  as  he 
placed  twenty-five  dollars  on  Foghorn's  desk. 

"Some  time  ago  a  worthless  adventurer 
came  out  here  and  induced  the  people  to 
grade,  bridge  and  tie  a  railroad  and  take  their 
pay  in  stock.  His  name  is  Bragg.  The  com- 
pany he  represented  is  insolvent,  and  was 
never  anything  but  a  paper  concern." 

'That's  just  what  I  told  the  people,"  said 
Foghorn. 

170 


A   Strange   Flaw 

"The  Sound  and  Reliable  Railroad  Com- 
pany have  mortgaged  the  road  to  the  Skunk 
Creek  and  Skeighi  Railroad  Company,  of 
which  I  am  president,  and  I  wish  to  know  if 
I  need  record  the  mortgage  in  every  county 
in  which -the  road  runs,"  further  inquired 
Duncan. 

"In  every  county,"  said  Foghorn,  "but 
where  is  this  Bragg  now?" 

"Oh,  he  is  in  some  of  the  slums  of  New 
York  City,"  said  Duncan.  "He  is  an  un- 
principled scoundrel." 

"Would  you  have  any  objection  to  my  dis- 
closing these  facts  to  the  people?"  asked  Fog- 
horn, who  felt  much  elated  to  find  one  who 
knew  Bragg  and  could  corroborate  the  opin- 
ion he  had  held. 

"None  whatever,"  said  Duncan. 

At  length,  in  their  conversation,  Duncan 
grew  more  familiar.  Foghorn  related  the 
story  of  Bragg's  conduct.  Duncan  listened 
attentively,  frequently  denounced  Bragg  as  a 
villain,  and  agreed  to  help  in  bringing  him  to 
justice.  Both  parties  concluded  that  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people  in  Bragg  should  be  de- 
stroyed before  that  could  be  done.  To  ac- 
complish this  the  story  was  industriously  cir- 

171 


A  Strange  Flaw 

culated  that  Bragg  was  an  impostor;  the  com- 
pany he  represented  a  fraud;  that  it  had  be- 
come insolvent,  mortgaged  the  road  to  an- 
other company,  and  it  was  doubtful  whether 
the  road  would  ever  be  completed. 

The  people  along  the  line  had  spent  so 
much  labor  and  money  in  constructing  it  that 
they  were  poorly  prepared  to  meet  the  cold 
winter  which  was  now  upon  them.  Many 
farmers,  carried  away  by  the  craze,  had  so 
neglected  their  farms  to  work  out  the  stock 
taken  by  them,  that  they  had  raised  nothing 
to  sell,  and  but  little  to  eat.  Everything  was 
scarce,  except  railroad  stock,  and  that  was  as 
plenty  as  Autumn  leaves.  In  these  hard  times 
many  who  had  spent  large  sums  of  money  to 
buy  property  when  it  was  on  the  rise,  having 
exhausted  their  means  and  credit,  were  forced 
by  necessity  to  sell,  and  as  but  few  had  money 
to  buy,  property  that  had  risen  so  rapidly  in 
the  Spring,  in  the  Winter  was  almost  worth- 
less. The  scarcity  of  money  had  paralyzed 
business;  laboring  men  were  without  money 
or  employment,  and  the  merchants  who  had 
sold  goods  on  the  orders  of  worthless  sub- 
contractors were  nearly  bankrupt.  These 
sub-contractors  had  drawn  their  pay,  repu- 

172 


A   Strange   Flaw 

diated  their  orders  and  left  the  country.  The 
failure  to  complete  the  road  had  already 
caused  great  dissatisfaction,  and  now  that  it 
was  circulated  that  Bragg  was  an  impostor 
and  cheat,  and  that  the  road  would  not  be 
completed,  Bronze  and  Goodman  and  the 
Lyer.  Bros,  and  their  associates  smelled  terror 
in  the  air.  Men  spoke  in  whispers  on  the 
streets.  There  were  secret  meetings,  threats 
of  lynching,  and  Bragg  and  his  pals  were 
spoken  of  in  very  unenviable  terms.  Some- 
thing must  be  done  immediately  to  stay  popu- 
lar discontent.  The  "Fountain  of  Truth" 
did  its  best  to  convince  the  people  that  Bragg 
would  return  and  the  road  would  be  com- 
pleted, and  in  the  meantime  Duncan  was  pri- 
vately consulted  by  Bronze,  Goodman  and 
Bragg's  other  associates.  They  begged  of 
him  to  do  no  more  to  break  down  the  confi- 
dence in  Bragg,  and  plead  with  him  to  go 
ahead  and  finish  the  road  with  all  possible 
speed.  Duncan  told  themvthat  Bragg  had 
grossly  misrepresented  the  condition  of  the 
country  and  the  road;  and  the  Skunk  Creek 
and  Skeighi  Railroad  Company  had  been  in- 
duced by  these  misrepresentations  to  contract 
for  the  completion  of  the  road,  and  take  a 

173 


A  Strange  Flaw 

mortgage  to  secure  it,  but  now  they  would 
rescind  the  contract,  unless  some  inducements 
were  offered  by  the  people,  and  upon  being 
informed  that  the  people  had  already  been 
bled  until  they  could  bleed  no  longer,  he  sug- 
gested that  the  legislature  be  induced  to  make 
a  land  grant  to  aid  in  completing  the  road. 
They  readily  agreed  to  this,  and  promised  to 
do  their  utmost  to  secure  one.  The  labors  of 
the  Lyer  Bros,  and  Timothy  Bronze  in  behalf 
of  the  railroad  enterprise  had  made  them  in- 
tensely popular  during  the  Summer,  and  at 
the  Fall  election  Bronze  had  been  elected  to 
the  State  Senate  and  G.  W.  Lyer  to  the  House 
of  Representatives.  In  many  other  localities, 
friends  of  the  road  had  also  been  elected. 
When  the  legislature  met  at  Bigburg  that 
Winter,  Duncan  was  on  hand  with  his  plans. 
The  legislature  of  that  State  was  com- 
posed of  members  of  two  political  parties. 
These  parties  we  will  call  the  "Good  Party" 
and  the  "Anti-Bad  Party."  The  platform 
of  the  "Good  Party"  contained  two  planks; 
the  first  was  an  announcement  in  glowing 
terms  that  it  was  proud  of  its  great  honesty 
and  grand  achievements.  The  second  plank 
was  a  warning  to  mankind  that  the  "Anti- 

174 


A  Strange  ^Flaw 

Bad  Party"  was  sharpening  its  teeth  and  pre- 
paring to  tear  in  tatters  the  fabric  of  govern- 
ment, and  drive  liberty  and  prosperity  from 
the  earth. 

The  platform  of  the  "Anti-Bad  Party" 
also  contained  two  planks.  The  first  stated 
that  the  so-called  "Good  Party"  had  invented 
and  patented  the  art  of  stealing,  had  grafted 
disease  and  famine  on  the  soil,  and  was  about 
to  install  Satan  the  absolute  monarch  of  the 
nation.  The  second  plank  of  the  "Anti-Bad 
Party"  stated  that  it  had  long  been  an  asylum 
for  virtue,  and  was  now  the  only  harbor 
where  the  wrecked  and  shattered  "Ship  of 
State"  might  be  repainted  and  repaired. 

These  great  parties  had  been  in  existence 
many  years,  and  each  had  at  various  times 
held  supremacy  in  the  State,  but  no  great 
changes  had  appeared  in  the  legislation.  The 
membership  of  these  parties  changed  greatly 
every  year;  many  of  their  members  died; 
many  new  ones  came  from  boys  arriving  at 
majority,  and  from  emigration;  and  many 
each  year  changed  from  one  party  to  the 
other;  and  yet  the  platforms  of  these  two  par- 
ties were  never  without  the  two  planks  re- 
ferred to,  of  laudation  for  self  and  calumny 

175 


A  Strange  Flaw 

for  each  other,  and  the  people  never  discov- 
ered the  cheat,  but  were  lashed  into  fury  at 
each  successive  election,  in  behalf  of  one  or 
the  other  of  these  parties. 

When  the  legislature  met,  the  principal 
topic  of  discussion  was  the  character  of  these 
two  parties.  Each  had  its  champions,  who 
spent  most  of  their  time  in  delivering  calum- 
nies. Fortunately  for  Duncan  the  only  lands 
which  the  State  was  conscious  of  owning,  were 
a  few  thousand  acres  of  swamp  and  over- 
flowed lands  in  the  northwest  part,  of  no  great 
value.  Knowing  this,  he  hit  upon  the  plan 
of  framing  a  bill  granting  to  the  Skunk  Creek 
and  Skeighi  Railroad  Company  all  lands  now 
owned  by  the  State,  granted  to  it  by  the 
United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  internal  im- 
provement. This  grant  would  enable  him  to 
set  up  title  to  all  the  lands  along  the  line  of 
the  railroad,  under  the  flaw  discovered  by 
Bragg  at  Washington.  When  this  bill  came 
up  for  passage  in  the  Senate,  the  minds  of  the 
legislators  were  frenzied  over  the  great  po- 
litical differences  existing  between  the  two 
parties.  Prior  to  that  the  Hon.  Horatio 
Hoggshanks,  from  Swillville,  had  introduced 
a  bill  to  banish  moles.  This  was  vigorously 

176 


A  Strange  Flaw 

opposed  by  the  champions  of  the  "Anti-Bad 
Party."  They  claimed  that  it  was  a  bill 
wholly  in  the  interest  of  the  "Good  Party," 
for  that  moles  burrowed  generally  in  sandy 
soil,  and  the  "Good  Party"  were  composed 
principally  of  ignorant  foreigners  who  settled 
on  sandy  soil.  The  debate  rose  high  and  bit- 
ter, whereupon  the  matter  was  partially  com- 
promised by  amending  the  bill  so  as  to  ban- 
ish gophers  also,  which  burrow  in  muck  soil. 
While  this  fever  was  raging,  Mr.  Bronze 
asked  permission  to  put  through  a  mere  for- 
mal matter,  and  the  "Land  Grant"  bill  passed 
without  attention  or  opposition. 

From  the  Senate  the  bill  went  to  the  House, 
and  there  it  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Public  Lands.  The  Hon.  Augustus  Alcott, 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  House,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  this  committee.  He  was  a  broad, 
square-shouldered  man,  with  blue  eyes,  red 
hair  and  long  red  whiskers.  He  was  about 
forty-five  years  of  age  and  the  father  of 
eleven  children.  He  had  been  unfortunate 
in  his  family  affairs.  His  first  wife,  a  short, 
plump,  little  blonde,  died  with  dyspepsia ;  the 
second,  a  tall,  slim  brunette,  sank  into  her 
grave  with  consumption,  and  his  third,  a 

177 


A  Strange  Flaw 

stout,  fat  Swede  girl,  was  an  inmate  of  the 
asylum,  having  become  a  lunatic  on  account  of 
great  bodily  weakness  and  nervous  prostra- 
tion. Yet,  notwithstanding  this  grief,  Mr. 
Alcott  held  his  head  up  and  possessed  great 
vigor.  When  not  engaged  in  the  affairs  of 
State  he  occupied  his  time  as  a  retail  dealer 
in  blooded  stallions,  and  as  Professor  of  Eth- 
ics in  the  Girls'  Reform  School.  The  clerk 
of  this  committee  was  a  petite,  sprightly 
lady,  named  Mary  Sweet,  whose  gentle  smile 
relieved  to  some  extent  the  dull,  monotonous 
life  of  the  committee  man.  Being  of  a  sym- 
pathetic nature  she  could  not  but  pity  Mr. 
Alcott  on  account  of  his  hard  domestic  fate, 
and  in  thinking  of  her,  he  often  reversed  her 
name,  and  there  is  no  telling  to  what  serene 
heights  of  bliss  this  mutual  sympathy  might 
have  led,  but  for  another  feature. 

The  Hon.  Ham  Lamb  was  also  a  member 
of  this  committee.  He  was  short  and  slender. 
He  had  large,  expressive  black  eyes.  His 
head  was  small  and  round,  with  a  large  bald 
spot  extending  from  the  forehead  to  the 
crown,  fringed  on  either  side  with  clusters  of 
jetty  curls.  When  he  spoke  it  was  in  an  ex- 
ceedingly pompous  manner.  When  not  di- 

178 


A  Strange   Flaw 

recting  the  machinery  of  government  he  spent 
his  time  cultivating  flowers  in  his  hot-house, 
and  raising  canary  birds.  He  also  had  been 
unfortunate.  While  walking  alone  one  day, 
watching  an  eclipse,  he  slipped  on  a  cherry 
stone  and  broke  his  right  leg,  and  in  order  to 
save  his  life  the  surgeon  had  to  amputate  it, 
so  the  Hon.  Ham  Lamb  was  compelled  to  get 
about  the  best  he  could  on  a  cork  limb.  Al- 
.though  forty  years  of  age  he  was  still  a  bach- 
elor. He  had  always  been  a  great  favorite 
with  the  ladies,  and  many  a  time  had  rumor 
told  of  his  approaching  marriage;  but  his  es- 
thetic nature  never  found  its  true  affinity.  He 
also  had  a  warm  feeling  for  Mary  Sweet,  and 
also  reversed  her  name,  and  he  and  the  Hon. 
Augustus  Alcott  had  learned  to  look  upon 
each  other  as  rivals  in  that  regard  where  no 
man  loves  his  rival.  And  when  these  states- 
men met  in  the  presence  of  Mary,  Lamb 
would  ask  Alcott  how  his  wife  was  getting 
along  at  the  asylum,  and  Alcott  would  ask 
Lamb  if  the  weather  affected  his  cork  leg. 
When  one  introduced  or  advocated  a  measure 
the  other  opposed  it,  and  their  hatred  for  each 
other  had  great  effect  upon  legislation. 

The  ease  with  which  the  bill  was  passed 

179 


A  Strange  Flaw 

through  the  Senate  led  Duncan  to  anticipate 
no  difficulty  in  the  House.  He  was  sure  of 
the  support  of  G.  W.  Lyer,  and  that  with  the 
prestige  of  its  having  passed  the  Senate,  made 
him  confident  of  success.  He  had  frequently 
seen,  crossing  his  legs  about  the  House  and 
Senate,  a  remarkably  well  dressed,  dudified 
creature  whose  lofty  look,  foreign  accent,  eye 
glasses  and  close  fitting  attire  contrasted  very 
strongly  with  the  slovenly  appearance  of  the 
ordinary  legislator,  with  his  coarse,  ill-fitting 
clothes  bedaubed  with  mud  and  sprinkled  with 
hay-seed.  The  name  of  this  dainty  individ- 
ual was  J.  Urebus  Dove.  After  the  passage 
of  the  bill  through  the  Senate,  Mr.  Dove 
danced  up  to  Duncan  and  presented  his  card. 

"Well,  sir,  what  is  it?"  asked  Duncan. 

"Ah,  excuse  me,  my  dear  fellah,  I  can  as- 
sist you." 

"How?" 

"Ah,  pardon  me,  sir,  your  bill  goes  to  the 
House,  sir." 

"Will  you  vote  for  it?" 

"Oh,  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  I  am  not  a 
member." 

"What  do  you  propose?" 

180 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"To  aid  you  with  my  influence,  sir.  Can 
you  comprehend,  my  dear  boy?" 

"Whom  can  you  influence?" 

"Ah,  indulge  me,  while  I  inform  you,  sir. 
I  am  the  power  behind  the  throne,  as  it  were. 
I  control  the  fellows  who  control  the  House." 

"How?" 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  but  that  is  my 
source  of  revenue.  Can  I  serve  you?" 

"Do  you  take  me  for  a  fool?  Good  day," 
said  Duncan,  and  walked  off  with  disgust  to 
think  that  he  had  wasted  his  time  conversing 
with  such  a  vacant  simpleton  as  this  dude. 

When  the  land  grant  bill  was  brought  up 
for  consideration  before  the  House  Commit- 
tee on  Public  Lands,  Mr.  Duncan  was  pres- 
ent, expecting  to  see  its  passage  recommended 
without  objection. 

Hs  was  greatly  surprised  when  the  Hon. 
Ham  Lamb  arose  and  made  a  remarkably 
telling  speech  against  it,  denouncing  it  as  a 
steal,  and  calling  on  every  honest  man  to  do 
his  utmost  to  throttle  the  measure.  Duncan 
saw  he  had  greatly  overestimated  his  chances, 
and  the  committee  would  have  probably  rec- 
ommended that  the  bill  "do  not  pass,"  but 
for  the  Hon.  Augustus  Alcott,  who  arose  and 

181 


A  Strange   Flaw 

made  a  vigorous  speech  championing  the 
measure. 

Many  other  members  then  spoke  for  and 
against  it,  and  the  matter  was  submitted  to 
a  vote.  There  were  twelve  members  of  the 
committee  and  they  equally  divided  upon  the 
question.  So  two  reports  were  made.  One 
recommended  that  the  bill  do  pass,  signed  by 
six,  and  one  recommended  that  the  bill  do 
not  pass,  signed  by  six. 

Duncan  now  became  frightened.  Never 
before  in  all  his  experience  with  legislatures 
had  he  met  such  opposition  as  this.  Discus- 
sion was  almost  sure  to  kill  the  bill.  It  would 
cause  delay.  Delay  would  permit  investiga- 
tion and  shed  light  on  the  plan.  The  more 
light,  the  more  danger  of  defeat.  What  was 
to  be  done?  He  and  G.  W.  Lyer  held  many 
an  earnest  consultation.  The  matter  had  been 
so  much  discussed  in  the  committee  it  would 
be  impossible  to  avoid  discussion  in  the 
House,  and  it  looked  as  though  nothing  but 
an  absolute  purchase  of  a  majority  of  the 
House  would  prevent  the  defeat  of  the  bill, 
and  the  bill  being  specially  set  for  consider- 
ation on  the  third  day  after  it  was  reported 
back  to  the  House,  the  time  was  too  short  to 

182 


A  Strange  Flaw 

negotiate.  The  Hon.  Ham  Lamb,  who  led 
the  opposition,  had  opposed  it  with  so  much 
zeal  that  it  was  dangerous  to  attempt  to  buy 
him.  Anxiously  and  fearfully  Duncan  await- 
ed the  onset. 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  GREAT  DEBATE 

The  House  of  Representatives  had  one 
hundred  members,  who,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  session,  induced  by  the  powerful  influ- 
ence of  Mr.  Lamb,  had  elected  A.  Wolf 
speaker.  Consequently,  Speaker  Wolf  liked 
Lamb  much  better  than  Alcott,  and  that  gave 
him  a  great  advantage  over  his  rival.  But 
Speaker  Wolf  was  never  consumed  by  his  love 
for  any  one.  He  had  an  inordinate  ambition 
and  desire  for  elbow  room.  Cold  as  a  lizard 
by  nature,  he  would  gladly  have  made  the 
earth  tenantless,  in  order  that  he  might  use 
it  all  for  his  grave.  When  the  bill  came  up 
for  discussion,  the  hall  was  packed  to  its  ut- 
most capacity.  The  newspapers  had  notified 
the  world  of  the  great  debate  that  would  take 
place  in  relation  to  the  bill. 

Mary  Sweet  was  seated  in  a  conspicuous 
place  near  the  speaker's  desk,  where  she  could 
witness  the  great  contest  between  her  lovers. 

184 


A  Strange  Flaw 

Conscious  of  great  weakness  and  trembling 
with  fear  we  approach  the  great  task  of  nar- 
rating this  wonderful  debate.  Oh,  that  we 
could  but  portray  to  the  reader  in  all  its  vivid 
reality  the  fires  of  genius  that  were  lighted, 
the  barrels  of  enthusiasm  uncorked  and  the 
scintillations  of  wit  which  illumined  that 
grand  occasion ;  that  we  might  inspire  all  with 
a  higher  and  a  more  reverent  regard  for  our 
lawmakers;  that  they,  knowing  the  sublime 
source  of  our  laws,  would  meekly  obey  them 
as  the  mandates  of  extreme  wisdom.  We 
must  content  ourselves  with  imperfectly  giv- 
ing the  proceedings  of  that  eventful  day.  At 
the  opening  of  the  session  time  was  given  for 
presenting  petitions  and  introducing  bills. 
The  Rev.  Jehosophat  Freelove  presented  a 
petition  from  the  All-Saints  Church,  at  Case- 
beer,  asking  that  the  constitution  of  the  State 
be  repealed  and  their  creed  be  enacted  in  its 
stead.  Hon.  Peaseley  Ceascr  presented  a  pe- 
tition from  the  City  Council  of  Skunkslough 
asking  the  legislature  to  legalize  one  of  its 
ordinances,  which  provided  that  no  one  be 
permitted  to  breathe  within  its  corporate  lim- 
its before  he  had  procured  a  license  from  its 
mayor,  and  making  it  the  duty  of  its  police- 

185 


A  Strange   Flaw 

men  to  shut  off  the  wind  of  all  persons  at- 
tempting to  violate  the  ordinance. 

Hon.  Theodore  Tilton  Jones  introduced  a 
bill  providing  that  ministers  of  the  gospel  be 
required  to  register  their  names  at  the  re- 
corder's office,  file  a  bond  and  take  out  li- 
cense; and  that  they  be  required  to  give  the 
head  of  the  family  three  days'  notice  before 
making  a  pastoral  visit.  A  bill  was  intro- 
duced by  the  Hon.  M.  Pugh,  prohibiting  doc- 
tors from  taking  commissions  on  prescriptions 
and  speculating  in  coffins.  Many  other  peti- 
tions and  bills  of  like  character  were  intro- 
duced, and  then  the  House  proceeded  to  con- 
sider the  great  land  grant  bill. 

The  vast  audience  had  been  eagerly  wait- 
ing for  the  great  debate  to  begin,  and  when 
the  Hon.  Ham  Lamb  arose  in  his  seat  to 
open  the  discussion,  all  eyes  were  turned  to- 
ward him,  and  all  ears  strained  to  catch  his 
words. 

To  get  an  idea  of  this  great  spectacle,  the 
reader  should  imagine  a  great  square  hall, 
with  immense  galleries  upon  the  east  and  west 
ends,  and  tall  Gothic  windows  with  panes 
stained  in  crimson  and  purple  at  the  sides. 
Let  the  reader  sit  in  the  west  gallery. 

186 


A  Strange  Flaw 

Around  you  in  this  gallery  you  see  the 
flower  of  the  West.  Bill  Thompson's  cordu- 
roy trousers  kiss  the  velvet  cushions;  his  cow- 
hide boots  caress  the  plush  carpet.  His  old 
mother  is  sitting  by  him  with  her  knitting, 
and  as  she  looks  around  through  her  steel 
spectacles,  remarks,  "Pap  never  dreamed  he'd 
be  elected  to  such  a  purty  place  as  this;"  and 
while  Bill  is  squirming  around  to  take  in  its 
beauty,  he  puts  his  muddy  boots  on  the  satin 
skirt  of  the  President  of  the  Woman's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union.  She  gives  him  a 
look  that  makes  him  shudder  and  think  what 
a  terrible  vixen  she  must  be,  and  then  inter- 
rupts her  daughter,  who  is  flirting  with  a  dude 
in  the  opposite  gallery,  to  show  her  the  soiled 
skirt.  The  gallery  you  are  in  and  the  one 
opposite  you  are  filled  with  people  of  both 
sexes,  all  ages  and  positions  in  society,  who 
are  scattered  about  promiscuously.  Above 
you  the  frescoed  ceiling  blossoms  with  lovely 
pictures,  and  below  you  in  the  hall  that  sep- 
arates the  two  galleries  is  the  legislature  of 
the  State  of 

As  you  look  down  upon  the  grand  assem- 
bly, a  forest  of  heads  meets  your  gaze.  And 
what  a  spectacle !  There  is  the  head  of  Sam- 

187, 


A   Strange   Flaw 

uel  Woodkirk,  topped  off  like  a  hubbard 
squash,  and  fringed  at  the  bottom  with  corn- 
silk  whiskers;  then  there  are  flat  heads,  thin 
heads,  round  heads;  heads  frosty  with  years, 
and  heads  covered  with  curls;  but  the  head 
containing  the  great  brain  that's  now  playing 
with  the  destiny  of  the  State  is  situated  near 
the  middle  aisle  facing  the  Speaker  who  sits 
opposite  you  on  the  east  side  of  the  hall. 
Tis  the  glistening  bald  head  of  that  little 
man  who  is  so  earnestly  sawing  the  air  with 
his  right  hand  and  balancing  himself  with 
his  left,  while  the  torrent  of  eloquence  from 
his  mouth  thrills  the  vast  assemblage.  This 
is  the  Hon.  Ham  Lamb,  now  delivering  the 
great  speech  of  the  session.  As  we  are  be- 
hind and  above  him  we  do  not  hear  distinctly 
all  his  words,  but  judging  from  the  violent 
motions  that  accompany  their  utterance,  and 
the  apparent  consternation  that  seems  to  agi- 
tate his  opponents,  and  the  smile  of  approval 
that  spreads  over  the  broad  face  of  Mary 
Sweet,  we  are  satisfied  that  it  is  a  masterpiece. 
In  order  that  the  great  debate  might  not  be 
lost,  we  procured  a  verbatim  report  of  it,  and 
will  give  it  to  the  reader. 

188 


A   Strange   Flaw 

The  opening  speech  of  the  Hon.  Ham 
Lamb  was  as  follows: 

Mr.  Lamb:     "Mr.  Speaker!" 

Speaker  Wolf:  "I  recognize  the  Hon. 
Ham  Lamb,  from  Sheepshire." 

Mr.  Lamb:  "The  provisions  of  the  bill 
which  I  propose  to  discuss,  carry  me  back  to 
my  boyhood  days;  when  I,  a  little  careless 
lad,  gathered  the  early  spring  flowers  upon 
the  verdant  hillsides.  In  the  dewy  freshness 
of  the  morning,  when  the  matin  birds  car- 
oled their  hymns  of  praise,  how  often  have 
I  left  my  little  cottage  home,  with  its  vine- 
clad  verandas " 

Patrick  Fogarty  McDobb:  "Mr.  Spaker! 
Mr.  Spaker!" 

Speaker  Wolf:  "I  recognize  Mr.  Mc- 
Dobb, from  New  Dublin." 

Mr.  McDobb:  "Mr.  Spaker,  I  call  the 
gintleman  to  order;  he's  not  spakin'  to  the 
pint." 

Speaker  Wolf :  "I  sustain  the  point  of  or- 
der." 

Mr.  Lamb:  "Leaving  the  cottage  of  my 
youth,  as  I  had  done  when  interrupted,  I  will 
now,  in  the  brief  time  allotted  to  me,  strike 
at  once  for  the  core  of  this  bill.  Last  even- 

189 


A  Strange   Flaw 

ing,  while  watching  the  golden  sunset  that 
streamed  through  the  windows  of  my  room, 
and  musing  upon  the  passing  pageant  of  earth 
life,  in  a  second  the  events  of  the  next  firty 
years  seemed  to  flit  before  me.  I  saw  the  pal- 
aces of  millionaires  with  their  silver  minarets 
glitter  in  the  sun.  I  saw  their  tables  loaded 
with  the  choicest  viands  of  earth.  I  saw  dogs 
gnawing  the  bones  of  little  children,  who  had 
died  of  starvation  in  the  shadow  of  these  pal- 
aces. The  scene  was  changed.  I  saw  mount- 
ains of  corn  rotting  in  the  sun,  and  I  saw 
hundreds  of  swine  fattening  upon  the  car- 
casses of  beggars,  who  either  died  of  starva- 
tion or  were  slain  while  attempting  to  steal 
the  corn.  And  seeing  these  sights,  how  I 
did  yearn  for  posterity.  Oh,  poor,  misguided 
posterity,  may  God  pity  you  and  save  you 
from  your  sad  fate  is " 

Mr.  McDobb:  "Mr.  Spaker!  Mr.  Spa- 
ker!" 

Speaker  Wolf:  "I  recognize  Mr.  Mc- 
Dobb of  New  Dublin." 

Mr.  McDobb:  "The  gintleman  is  not 
spaking  to  the  pint." 

Speaker  Wolf:  "Millionaires'  palaces  and 
rotten  corn  may  have  some  connection  with 

190 


A  Strange  Flaw 

railroad  land  grants.     I  will  permit  the  gen- 
tleman to  proceed." 

Mr.  Lamb:  "Going  back  again  to  pos- 
terity, I  will  at  once,  without  further  prelim- 
inaries, examine  in  its  essence,  the  bill  under 
discussion.  What  is  it,  let  me  ask,  makes 
the  lot  of  the  poor  so  hard?" 

Messenger  from  the  Senate :  "Mr.  Speak- 
er, the  Senate  has  just  passed  house  bill  19731, 
requiring  that  beggars  break  rocks  at  the  rate 
of  three  cents  a  day,  the  proceeds  to  be  de- 
voted to  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the 
late  lamented  Thomas  Jones." 

Mr.  Lamb:  "Returning  again  to  my  sub- 
ject, I  wish  to  narrate  an  incident  of  mighty 
Pericles  of  Greece,  how " 

Mr.  Cowslip:    "Say,  Speaker " 

Speaker  Wolf:  "I  recognize  the  Hon. 
Hank  Cowslip,  from  Slop  county." 

Mr.  Cowslip :  "Pear  trees  and  grease  ain't 
got  a  darned  thing  to  do  with  this  argument. 
When  a  hen  wants  to  hatch  a  chicken  out  of 
an  egg  she  has  it  sot  on,  but  this  man's  egg 
will  get  rotten  'fore  he  gits  on  to  it." 

Mr.  Lamb:     "The  gentleman  from  Slop 
does  not  understand  me." 
191 


A  Strange   Flaw 

Mr.  Cowslip:  "Nor  no  one  else;  he's  too 
highfalutin'.  No  use  of  a  goose  trying  to  fly 
like  an  eagle,  he'll  wabble  a  wing  off.  See 
here,  Clerk,  read  that  air  bill  ag'in  and  let's 
see  if  he  can't  get  to  the  trough  before  he 
empties  the  swill.  Say,  Hide,  give  me  a  chaw 
of  terbacker." 

Speaker  Wolf:  "The  reading  of  the  bill 
is  called  for.  Mr.  Clerk,  read  the  bill." 

Reading  Clerk:  "The  bill  reads  as  fol- 
lows: 


"  'AN  ACT  to  relieve  the  settlers  of  certain 
counties. 

"  'Whereas,  the  citizens  who  reside  in  the 
counties  through  which  the  Skunk  Creek  and 
Skeighi  Railroad  Company  have  partially 
completed  an  important  line  of  railway,  are 
now  in  great  need  because  of  short  crops, 
high  taxes,  sickness,  devouring  insects  and 
sweeping  tornadoes  which  have  vexed  them 
to  the  verge  of  extreme  poverty  and  helpless- 
ness; and, 

"  'Whereas,  these  meek  and  benevolent  peo- 
ple have  for  years  filled  the  treasury  of  the 
State,  and  the  coffers  of  charitable  institu- 

192 


A  Strange  Flaw 

tions  with  taxes  which  their  generous  hands 
have  willingly  paid;  and, 

"  'Whereas,  these  kind  and  afflicted  people 
have  never  before  asked  any  favor  of  this 
State  and  now  ask  but  a  meagre  return  for 
the  blessings  they  have  so  freely  showered 
upon  it; 

"  Therefore  be  it  enacted  by  the  Grand 
Assembly  of 

"  That  all  the  lands  now  held  by  this  State, 
or  in  which  it  has  an  interest,  that  were 
granted  to  it  by  the  United  States  for  the 
purposes  of  internal  improvement  be  and  are 
hereby  granted  to  the  Skunk  Creek  and 
Skeighi  Railroad  Company  to  have  and  hold 
forever,  to  aid  it  in  the  completion  of  its 
railroad  through  this  afflicted  locality. 

*  This  act  being  deemed  of  immediate  im- 
portance shall  take  effect  and  be  enforced  from 
and  after  its  publication  in  the  "Morning 
Moralist'  of  Bigburg  and  "The  Fountain  of 
Truth''  of  Littletown.'  " 

Mr.  Lamb:  "Without  further  digression 
or  illustration,  and  ignoring  all  surrounding 
circumstances,  I  now  propose  to  concentrate 
my  attention  upon  the  essence  of  the  bill  just 

193 


A  Strange   Flaw 

read.  The  frequent  interruptions  which  I 
have  suffered  have  had  the  effect  of  disinte- 
grating my  intelligence  and  scattering  my 
thoughts;  and  if  I  have  not  spoken  directly 
to  the  point  I  propose  now,  by  the  extreme 
brevity  and  directness  of  my  remarks,  to  atone 
for  any  mistakes  heretofore  made.  In  parlia- 
mentary discussion,  nothing  is  more  desirable 
than  that  the  discussion  of  a  question  be  nar- 
rowed down  to  the  very  point  in  issue,  and 
it  is  my  strongest  desire,  to  without  fuss  or 
flourish  reach  the  very  heart  of  the  subject 
under  consideration.  By  so  doing  much  time 
will  be  saved  and  the  debate,  liable  otherwise 
to  be  continued  for  a  great  length  of  time, 
may  be  reduced  to  such  an  extent  as  to  great- 
ly abbreviate  the  session  and " 

Mr.  McDobb:  "Mister  Spaker,  Mister 
Spaker." 

"Speaker  Wolf:  "I  again  recognize  the 
Hon.  Mr.  McDobb  of  New  Dublin." 

Mr.  McDobb:  "The  gintleman  is  not 
spaking  to  the  pint.  The  avils  that  he's  after 
givin'  us " 

Mr.  McDobb  was  here  interrupted  by  the 
falling  of  one  of  the  ornaments  attached  to 
the  ceiling  over  his  head.  This  was  com- 

194 


A  Strange  Flaw 

posed  of  plaster  and  weighed  several  pounds. 
When  it  fell  it  struck  the  Hon.  McDobb  on 
the  crown  of  his  head  and  broke  into  many 
fragments,  which  flew  in  every  direction.  Not 
knowing  what  hit  him  and  supposing  in  his 
half  stunned  condition  that  it  was  some  one 
sitting  near  him  who  was  trying  to  suppress 
him,  in  a  wild  and  frantic  manner  he  began 
striking  right  and  left  at  everybody  and  every- 
thing within  his  reach,  using  language  too 
forcible  to  mention  and  more  emphatic  than 
polite.  Before  the  sergeant-at-arms,  aided 
by  the  janitor,  could  arrest  his  violence,  he 
had  blacked  the  eye  of  Empty  Jones,  broken 
a  rib  of  the  Hon.  Peasly  Caesar  and  stripped 
the  collar  and  a  part  of  the  shirt  from  the 
Rev.  Jehosophat  Freelove. 

In  the  terrible  excitement  and  panic  which 
followed  this  occurrence,  the  women  screamed 
and  rushed  for  the  door.  The  commotion  they 
made,  combined  with  the  noise  made  by  the 
men  in  attempting  to  quiet  them,  the  pounding 
of  the  gavel  of  the  speaker  in  an  effort  to  re- 
store order,  the  continued  antics  of  McDobb, 
the  howls  of  the  wounded  around  him,  the 
noise  of  their  flight,  and  the  scuffle  with  the 
sergeant-at-arms  and  the  janitor,  converted 

195 


A  Strange  Flaw 

the  lower  house  of  this  legislature  into  a  pan- 
demonium appalling  to  the  strongest  nerves. 

Amid  the  excitement  Mary  Sweet  fainted. 
This  immediately  brought  to  her  side  the 
Hon.  Augustus  Alcott  and  the  Hon.  Ham 
Lamb.  The  Hon.  Ham  Lamb  insisted  that 
he  would  remain  with  the  fainting  lady  while 
the  Hon.  Augustus  Alcott  went  for  a  physi- 
cian. 

But  this  did  not  suit  the  Hon.  Gentleman, 
so  he,  fearing  the  dangers  that  might  befall 
her  in  his  absence,  thought  best  to  save  time 
by  taking  her  along  with  him  to  see  the  physi- 
cian. So,  like  the  bold  Cossack  of  the  des- 
ert, he  grasped  her  fainting  form  in  his  arms 
and  triumphantly  strode  up  the  aisle,  followed 
by  the  hobbling  gait  of  the  Hon.  Ham  Lamb, 
who  was  trying  to  fan  her  pallid  face  with 
his  hat. 

On  account  of  the  great  confusion  thus 
engendered  and  the  absence  of  the  two  cham- 
pions, the  House  adjourned  until  the  follow- 
ing day.  When  Duncan  observed  the  devo- 
tion manifested  by  the  Hon.  Ham  Lamb  for 
Miss  Mary  Sweet,  he  said  to  Geo.  W.  Lyer: 
"I  believe  I  have  discovered  the  key  to  the 
position.  That  Sweet  girl  undoubtedly  has 

196 


A  Strange   Flaw 

great  influence  over  Mr.  Lamb.  I  shall  at 
once  attempt  to  work  her  in  the  interest  of 
the  grant." 

So  that  same  day  Duncan  sought  and  found 
the  abode  of  Miss  Mary  Sweet  and  obtained 
an  interview  with  her.  She  politely  referred 
him  to  her  friend  and  counselor,  J.  Urebus 
Dove,  who,  she  stated,  would  negotiate  with 
him,  and  any  arrangements  he  made  she  would 
comply  with.  Having  before  treated  Mr. 
Dove  in  such  an  abrupt  and  contemptuous 
manner,  Mr.  Duncan  did  not  desire  to  so 
humiliate  himself  as  to  seek  his  service;  but 
as  time  was  short  and  there  seemed  no  other 
alternative,  he  at  last  concluded  to  do  so.  He 
found  J.  Urebus  in  a  neatly  furnished  room 

at  the  House,  smoking  his  cigar 

and  reading  the  New  York  Clipper.  As  the 
great  railroad  king  approached  him,  Mr. 
Dove  adjusted  his  eye  glasses  and  looked  at 
him  with  a  lofty  and  critical  glance,  as  he 
said: 

"Ah,  fellow,  what  do  you  require?" 
"I  called,  Mr.  Dove,  to  apologize  to  you 
for  my  abrupt  manner  toward  you  the  other 
day.     My  excuse,  sir,  is  that  not  being  ac- 
quainted with  you,  I  did  not  properly  estimate 

197 


A  Strange   Flaw 

the  value  of  your  friendship  and  your  per- 
sonal importance." 

"Ah,  I  fear  you  flatter  me,  my  dear  boy," 
I  accept  your  apology.  Good  day." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  continued  Duncan, 
"but  I  have  a  little  matter  of  business  that  I 
wish  to  talk  about,  I  wish  to  secure  your  valu- 
able assistance." 

"Ah,  my  dear  fellow,  I  cannot  now  be  in- 
terrupted. I  wish  to  finish  this  highly  enter- 
taining article.  Call  again." 

To  be  thus  dallied  with  by  a  dude  was  very 
provoking  to  Mr.  Duncan,  who  was  accus- 
tomed to  have  other  people  wait  on  his  leis- 
ure, but  he  rallied  again  and  said,  "When 
shall  I  call?" 

"In  one  hour  from  now  I  will  see  you," 
said  Mr.  Dove.  Duncan  then  left,  but  re- 
turned in  one  hour.  Mr.  Dove  was  still  read- 
ing, and  required  Mr.  Duncan  to  sit  in  silence 
for  another  hour,  waiting  for  him  to  finish. 

This  done,  Mr.  Duncan  proceeded  to  plead 
his  cause  before  this  autocrat,  who  composed 
the  3rd  House  of  the  legislature  of  the  State 
of . 

After  much  parleying,  Duncan  and  the 
dude  agreed  upon  the  share  which  the  lat- 

198 


A  Strange   Flaw 

ter  was  to  have  in  the  steal,  in  case  he  secured 
the  passage  of  the  bill. 

They  then  separated. 

On  the  evening  of  that  day,  the  Hon.  Ham 
Lamb  received  an  invitation  to  a  card  party 
at  the  residence  of  Miss  Mary  Sweet.  On 
the  following  day  the  speaker  announced  with 
much  regret  that  owing  to  indisposition,  the 
Hon.  Ham  Lamb  was  not  able  to  be  in  his 
seat.  It  was  also  noticeable  that  Mary  Sweet 
was  not  in  attendance. 

After  the  usual  preliminaries  were  dis- 
posed of,  the  great  debate  on  the  land  grant 
bill  was  resumed.  The  towering  form  of  the 
Ajax  of  the  House,  the  Hon.  Augustus  Al- 
cott,  was  seen  erect  and  fronting  the  speak- 
er's desk.  Furiously  his  flaming  hair  waved, 
as  he  swayed  his  head  from  side  to  side,  while 
from  his  powerful  lungs  a  mighty  torrent  of 
eloquence  poured  forth,  filling  with  consterna- 
tion the  opponents  of  the  bill.  We  know  how 
vain  the  attempt  to  transfer  his  burning 
words  to  paper,  but  we  give  the  report  of  his 
great  speech  the  best  we  can. 

Mr.  Alcott:     "Mr.  Speaker." 

Speaker  Wolf:    "I  recognize  the  Hon.  Au- 
gustus Alcott  from  Shanghai." 
199 


A   Strange   Flaw 

Mr.  Alcott:  "Mr.  Lamb  is  sick;  I  am 
sorry.  He  studs  his  speech  with  stuff  about 
posterity.  He  rears  and  prances  like  a  Ken- 
tucky whip.  He  steps  high  and  short,  but  he 
trips  himself.  What  makes  him  rave  about 
posterity?  What  has  this  bald-headed  bach- 
elor done  for  posterity?  Nothing  that  any- 
body knows  of.  While  I  have  been  raising 
my  eleven  children,  he's  been  cultivating  flow- 
ers and  raising  canary  birds.  Let  him  get 
married  and  do  something  for  posterity.  He 
talks  about  children  starving  in  the  shade  of 
millionaires'  houses.  Whose  children  ?  None 
of  his  I'll  warrant  you.  If  it  wasn't  for  more 
enterprising  men  there  would  be  no  children 
to  starve.  He  needn't  worry  about  my  chil- 
dren. They  know  too  much  to  get  in  the 
shade  and  starve  when  there  is  a  chance  to 
graze  in  the  sun.  He  says  something  about 
rotten  corn,  and  beggars  starving  to  get  to  it. 
That's  just  what  we  want  a  railroad  for.  To 
take  the  corn  to  beggars  before  it  rots  and 
the  beggars  to  the  corn  before  they  starve. 

"If  Mr.  Lamb  would  spend  less  time  in 
watchin'  the  sun  set,  and  more  raisin'  corn  to 
rot  for  want  of  a  market,  and  raise  children 
instead  of  canary  birds,  and  cultivate  brains 

200 


A  Strange  Flaw 

instead  of  flowers,  he  might  not  be  so  flowery, 
but  would  know  more.  That's  what  I've  got 
to  say  about  what  he  says.  Just  another  word 
and  I'll  be  through.  I'm  dealing  in  horse 
flesh,  and  if  you  fellows  are  mind  to  be  fools 
enough  to  vote  to  keep  this  iron  horse  out  of 
the  country,  why  I'll  continue  to  furnish  you 
with  thoroughbred  stallions  just  as  I  have 
done,  and  it  won't  be  a  dollar  out  of  my 
pocket.  The  more  railroads  the  less  horses. 
There  isn't  a  girl  in  my  class  at  the  reform 
school  but  has  brains  enough  to  see  as  plain 
a  point  as  that." 

The  roll  was  then  called  and  the  vote  was 
taken.  Just  as  his  name  was  called  the  Hon. 
Ham  Lamb  came  in  and  asked  the  privilege 
of  explaining  his  vote  as  he  gave  it.  He  said 
that  facts  had  been  brought  to  his  notice  since 
the  last  adjournment,  which  caused  him  to 
look  at  the  matter  in  a  very  different  light. 
That  he  had  discovered  that  the  lands  to  be 
granted  were  worthless,  and  the  railroad  to 
be  constructed  of  inestimable  benefit  to  the 
State.  He  therefore  voted  aye.  The  vote 
when  taken  showed  the  bill  to  have  passed  by 
only  one  majority. 

The  Hon.  John  H.  Beer  was  then  gov- 

201 


A  Strange   Flaw 

ernor.  He  had  formerly  been  a  dealer  in 
dried  fruits  and  sour  mash  whiskey,  but  when 
the  prohibition  wave  struck  the  "Good  Party" 
it  called  him  from  his  retirement  to  stand 
upon  its  prohibition  platform  and  head  its 
temperance  ticket.  The  governor  had  a 
beautiful  pair  of  rosy  eyes  that  sat  on  either 
side  of  an  illuminated  proboscis,  which  was 
well  suited  to  illustrate  the  evil  effect  of  in- 
temperance. What  his  countenance  lacked  in 
beauty  it  made  up  in  color,  which  if  well  dis- 
tributed might  have  made  him  a  very  hand- 
some man.  Unlike  many  other  great  moral 
leaders,  his  exalted  position  did  not  make  him 
proud.  He  was  as  familiar  as  a  female  book 
peddler;  as  easy  of  access  as  a  saloon.  He 
would  talk  politics  to  a  bootblack  and  ask 
advice  of  a  newsboy.  His  simple  ways  en- 
deared him  to  the  people.  He  regarded  the 
office  of  governor  as  purely  executive,  and 
would  have  signed  his  own  death  warrant 
had  it  passed  both  houses  of  the  legislature, 
and  when  the  land  grant  was  handed  him 
he  signed  it  without  reading  and  ordered 
its  publication,  which  was  accordingly  done 
and  the  bill  became  a  law. 


202 


A   Strange   Flaw 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  TRIAL 

Since  Bragg  first  came  to  Littletown,  Fog- 
horn had  steadfastly  opposed  him.  That 
opposition  had  borne  no  fruit  save  in  bring- 
ing Foghorn  into  ill  repute,  and  now  he  was 
forsaken  by  the  community,  despised  by  his 
neighbors,  and  his  business  as  a  lawyer  gone, 
and  he  was  reduced  to  extreme  poverty. 
Alone  and  poor,  he  stood  firm  and  unshaken 
in  the  path  of  duty,  but  the  days  seemed  very 
dark  to  the  old  man.  He  had  grown  weary 
of  sitting  in  his  office  from  one  month's  end 
to  another,  without  a  client  or  even  a  visitor, 
save  Harry  or  some  person  that  came  to  dun 
him  for  a  debt.  Harry  also  felt  much  dis- 
couraged in  striving  for  a  pursuit  which  had 
brought  so  little  good  to  his  venerable  friend. 
One  day  he  said,  "Let's  leave  this  country, 
Mr.  Foghorn;  everybody  hates  us.  Your 
business  Is  destroyed  and  we  will  soon  be 
driven  out  by  poverty." 

203 


A   Strange   Flaw 

"No,"  said  Foghorn,  "I  have  put  in  my 
whole  life  trying  to  benefit  humanity,  and  I 
am  not  going  to  quit  now.  Have  patience, 
Harry,  there  will  be  a  change  some  day." 

"It's  mighty  slow  coming,"  said  Harry, 
"I'm  afraid  we  won't  live  to  see  it." 

While  they  were  talking  heavy  footsteps 
were  heard  upon  the  stairs  and  in  a  moment 
a  stout,  burly,  blustering,  full  whiskered  man 
came  in  with  a  bunch  of  papers  in  his  right 
hand  and  a  sack  full  at  his  side.  He  opened 
a  notice  and  read  it  to  Foghorn  and  handed 
him  a  copy.  Then  read  one  to  Harry  and 
handed  him  a  copy,  and  then  went  hurriedly 
out.  They  were  notices  to  quit.  Foghorn 
was  notified  to  quit  his  homestead  and  his 
office,  and  surrender  the  possession  of  the 
same  to  the  Skunk  Creek  and  Skeighi  Rail- 
road Company,  who  claimed  to  be  the  own- 
ers, by  virtue  of  a  legislative  grant  of  recent 
date. 

When  these  notices  were  read  the  two  men 
looked  at  each  other  with  blank  astonishment 
At  last  Harry  said: 

"It  seems  we  haven't  reached  the  bottom 
yet." 

204 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"I  don't  understand  this,"  said  Foghorn, 
reading  the  notice  over  and  over  again. 

"Don't  understand  it!"  echoed  Harry  im- 
petuously, "why,  the  cursed  company  is  go- 
ing to  take  away  all  your  property  and  de- 
prive mother  and  me  of  all  we  have." 

"But  this  says  something  about  a  legis- 
lative grant.  It  can't  be  that  the  legislature 
has  granted  my  property  and  yours.  They 
surely  have  no  right  to  do  that,"  said  Fog- 
horn. 

While  they  were  talking,  a  man,  wild  with 
excitement,  came  in  brandishing  a  notice  in 
his  hand;  he  was  followed  by  another  and 
another  until  the  office  was  filled  with  an 
angry  and  excited  crowd,  who  were  anxious 
to  consult  Mr.  Foghorn.  Out  on  the  street 
there  was  a  large  crowd  waiting  for  a  chance 
to  get  in,  all  of  them  holding  notices  in  their 
hands  and  greatly  excited.  They  had  all  been 
notified  to  quit  by  the  Skunk  Creek  and 
Skeighi  Railroad  Company,  and  knowing  that 
Foghorn  had  always  opposed  the  railroad 
scheme,  they  now  eagerly  sought  him  for  his 
advice.  The  most  he  could  do  was  to  take 
their  notices  and  promise  to  look  after  their 
cases.  All  the  afternoon  until  late  in  the 

205 


A  Strange  Flaw 

evening  a  continual  throng  of  anxious  clients, 
young  men  and  old,  widows  and  orphans,  ad- 
ministrators of  estates,  guardians  of  wards, 
trustees  of  churches,  preachers,  doctors,  farm- 
ers, and  all  classes,  rushed  to  Foghorn's  office 
to  find  out  what  was  the  matter  and  employ 
him.  At  last  Geo.  W.  Lyer  came  in  and  wanted 
to  engage  the  services  of  Foghorn  to  defend 
the  firm  of  Lyer  Bros,  in  the  matter.  The 
Skunk  Creek  and  Skeighi  Railroad  Company 
had  heen  no  respecter  of  persons.  It  had  no- 
tified both  friend  and  foe,  regardless  of  past 
services,  to  quit  and  vacate  every  inch  of 
earth  inside  the  region  of  the  grant.  This 
had  caused  a  complete  change  of  sentiment, 
and  on  the  next  evening  an  indignation  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  Court  House.  A  commit- 
tee was  sent  to  escort  Mr.  Foghorn  and  his 
clerk  to  the  meeting,  and  this  committee  went 
to  the  office  and  carried  them  to  the  Court 
House  on  their  shoulders.  As  soon  as  they 
entered,  Foghorn  was  loudly  called  for,  to 
speak,  and  he  arose  and  said: 

"Sublime  idiots,  where  is  the  Hon.  Hen- 
derson Bragg?  Gilt  edged  and  rainbowed 
aristocrats,  where  is  the  Sound  and  Reliable 
Railroad  Company?  At  our  last  meeting  the 

206 


A  Strange  Flaw 

priest  of  the  oracle  was  here,  holding  the 
destiny  of  Littletown  in  his  hands.  Where 
is  he  now,  and  in  which  hand?  (Some  man 
shouted  out,  "He  holds  it  now  in  his  pocket.") 
At  that  meeting  I  made  some  reflections  upon 
the  character  of  that  honorable  gentleman, 
and  you  passed  a  resolution.  I  would  like 
to  have  the  proceedings  of  that  meeting  read. 
You  would  not  hear  me  then.  It  may  be  too 
late  to  hear  me  now.  You  have  stepped  into 
the  trap  and  sprung  it.  You  have  jumped 
at  the  fly  and  caught  the  hook." 

He  then  explained  to  them  how  they  must 
wait  until  the  question  of  title  could  be  tried 
by  the  courts.  That  in  his  opinion  it  was 
not  possible  for  the  State  legislature  to  grant 
to  a  railroad  company  lands  that  had  been 
patented  to  the  people  by  the  general  govern- 
ment. When  the  meeting  adjourned,  many 
flocked  around  Foghorn  to  tell  him  that  they 
had  been  his  friends  all  the  time.  Circum- 
stances of  a  few  days  had  brought  a  great 
change.  Two  days  ago  he  had  not  a  friend 
in  the  village,  except  Harry;  now  everybody 
looked  to  Foghorn  as  their  savior.  Two  days 
ago  he  had  no  clients  at  all.  Now  nearly 
every  man  in  the  county  was  his  client,  and 

207 


A  Strange  Flaw 

men  came  in  from  other  counties  to  employ 
him.  It  seemed  like  a  new  and  strange  life  to 
him. 

The  time  having  elapsed  in  which  the  peo- 
ple were  notified  to  quit,  and  they  refusing  to 
surrender  their  homes  to  the  railroad  com- 
pany, suits  were  brought  in  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court,  which  convened  at  Bigburg  the 
following  May. 

The  questions  that  arose  in  all  the  cases" 
were  identical  and  had  to  be  submitted  to  the 
court  without  a  jury.  They  depended  solely 
upon  the  construction  of  the  original  grant, 
and  that  construction  wholly  upon  the  read- 
ing of  one  word,  and  that  word  entirely  upon 
the  reading  of  the  first  two  letters,  and  if  one 
of  those  letters  could  be  read,  the  other  was 
easy  to  read;  so  the  fate  of  thousands  of  fam- 
ilies depended  upon  the  reading  of  one  letter. 
When  the  cases  came  on  for  trial,  they  were 
ordered  to  be  tried  together. 

The  court  room  was  crowded  to  its  utmost 
capacity  with  an  eager  and  anxious  throng, 
and  thousands  of  hearts,  scattered  over  the 
state,  beat  in  great  suspense  waiting  to  hear 
the  result.  The  original  grant  was  brought 
into  court.  All  before  and  after  the  doubtful 

208 


A  Strange  Flaw 

letters  was  read  again  and  again.  The  Hon. 
Galusha  Parsnip  appeared  as  attorney  for  the 
company  and  intended  to  make  a  great  argu- 
ment to  prove  that  the  first  letter  of  the  word 
was  i  instead  of  e,  and  therefore,  by  necessity, 
the  next  letter  must  be  n  instead  of  x. 

He  intended  to  introduce  specimens  of 
handwriting  in  nineteen  different  languages 
and  seven  hundred  specimens  in  one  lan- 
guage, and  cite  authorities  to  maintain  the 
proposition  that  all  grants  to  railroad  com- 
panies had  heretofore  been  held  to  include 
everything  and  exclude  nothing,  and  to  speak 
eloquently  of  the  immense  advantage  rail- 
roads had  been  to  the  country;  and  of  the  self- 
sacrificing  zeal  of  capitalists,  who  had  in- 
vested their  hard  earnings  in  the  unsettled 
West. 

When  the  cases  were  called  for  trial  Mr. 
Parsnip  had  brought  and  spread  out  upon  the 
tables  in  front  of  the  bench,  several  hundred 
volumes  in  different  languages  and  upon  many 
subjects.  He  evidently  designed  to  immor- 
talize himself  by  making  an  eternal  speech. 

Knowing  the  habits  of  Parsnip,  and  fear- 
ing an  endless  essay  on  matters  foreign  to 
the  case,  the  judge  stated  that  the  court 
209 


A  Strange  Flaw 

had  decided  to  limit  the  speeches  of  counsel 
on  each  side  to  one  hour.  Mr.  Parsnip  arose 
and,  after  taking  up  half  his  time  in  making 
an  apology,  explaining  how  he  had  been  called 
into  the  case  without  any  opportunity  to  pre- 
pare his  argument,  said  to  the  court  that  if  it 
had  any  doubt  in  relation  to  the  position  that 
he  took,  he  would  furnish  it  a  written  brief. 
He  then  began  his  argument  as  follows : 

"Anterior  to  the  creation  of  man " 

"Come,  come,  Mr.  Parsnip,"  thundered  the 
judge,  "come  down  to  the  facts  in  this  case. 
This  court  cannot  sit  and  listen  to  what  hap- 
pened prior  to  the  creation.  Reserve  that  for 
a  geological  work.  What  is  the  point  in  this 
case?  Read  the  grant." 

This  rebuke  would  have  tarnished  the 
cheek  of  some  men,  but  Parsnip  was  un- 
blanched.  He  continued : 

"Your  Honor  may  know  better  how  to  ar- 
gue this  case  than  I  do,  but  you  fail  to  com- 
prehend my  intention.  When  interrupted  I 
was  proceeding  to  show  the  court  how  hand- 
writing was  originally  made  upon  the  rocks 
by  Deity,  and  so  suggested  to  man.  I  then 
proposed  to  exhibit  to  your  Honors  a  photo- 
graph copy  of  the  laws  of  Moses,  which  were 

210 


A  Strange  Flaw 

written  under  the  immediate  supervision  of 
God  himself,  on  tables  of  stone." 

"How  is  that  material  to  this  case?"  de- 
manded the  judge. 

"I  propose,  then,  to  show  that  Moses  made 
an  i  just  like  the  letter  in  the  grant,  which  the 
defendants  claim  is  e,"  continued  Parsnip. 

"Wherein  is  that  important?"  asked  the 
court. 

"Why,  you  see,"  said  Parsnip,  "the  only 
question  in  these  cases  is  whether  a  certain 
word  is  'including'  or  'excluding,'  and  if  the 
first  letter  in  the  word  is  i,  the  plaintiff  must 
succeed." 

"Is  that  all  there  is  in  these  cases?"  asked 
the  chief  justice. 

"It  is,"  answered  Parsnip. 

"Have  you  any  decisions  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  on  this  grant?"  further 
inquired  the  judge. 

"No,  your  Honor,"  replied  Parsnip,  "but 
I  have  the  Law  of  Moses  and  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, written  under  the  immediate  su- 
pervision of  Almighty  God,  and  I  suppose 
your  Honor  respects  such  authority  as  that." 

"I  respect  it,  but  I  do  not  follow  it,"  roared 
the  judge.  "If  you  have  any  decisions  of  this 

211 


A   Strange   Flaw 

court  or  the  Supreme  Court  on  the  point,  read 
them;  if  not,  sit  down.  Mr.  Foghorn,  have 
you  any  such  decisions  on  this  grant  ?" 

"No,"  said  Foghorn,  rising  to  his  feet, 
"but  I  wish  to  explain  to  your  Honor  the 
terrible  effect  of  your  decision,  if  it  should  be 
given  in  favor  of  the  plaintiff;  how  many 
people  you  will  render  homeless." 

"Save  yourself  that  trouble,  Mr.  Foghorn," 
said  the  judge.  "This  court  dispenses  justice 
without  regard  to  the  rights  of  parties.  Pass 
us  the  grant  and  the  other  papers  and  we  will 
look  at  them  after  we  adjourn." 

Thus,  this  great  question  was  summarily 
submitted  and  might  have  been  otherwise  de- 
cided, were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  when  the 
judge  came  back  after  dinner,  and  looked  at 
the  grant,  he  discovered  a  little  dot  over  the 
first  letter  in  the  doubtful  word,  and  he  con- 
cluded that  the  first  letter  was  i,  and  there- 
fore that  the  second  must  be  n  in  order  to 
make  sense,  and  decided  that  the  railroad 
company  was  the  owner  of  all  the  lands  em- 
bracing several  counties  and  ordered  writs  of 
ejectment  against  the  inhabitants  thereof. 
This  was  a  crushing  blow  to  Foghorn,  for  the 
writs  of  ejectment  could  not  be  stayed  by  an 

212 


A  Strange  Flaw 

appeal,  without  a  bond,  which  the  settlers 
were  unable  to  give. 

When  the  news  arrived  at  Littletown,  of 
the  court's  decision,  the  people  could  hardly 
believe  it.  At  last,  when  they  came  to  the 
dreadful  realization  of  the  fact,  hundreds  sol- 
emnly declared  that  they  would  never  leave 
their  homes  alive.  Again  and  again  did  they 
curse  the  evil  day  that  Bragg  came  to  Little- 
town.  Again  and  again  did  they  bewail  their 
folly  in  refusing  to  listen  to  Foghorn.  The 
horror,  felt  by  all,  had  suspended  business. 
Women  and  children  were  walking  to  and 
fro  in  the  streets,  looking  into  each  other's  de- 
spairing faces,  asking  if  there  was  no  hope. 
They  flocked  around  Foghorn  by  the  hun- 
dreds, but  he  was  silent.  He  could  promise 
them  nothing,  except  he  would  appeal  the 
case.  Despair  at  last  grew  into  desperation, 
and  men  of  all  classes  vowed  impulsively  to 
defend  their  homes  with  the  last  drop  of  their 
blood.  With  clenched  fists  and  lowering 
brows,  through  their  set  jaws,  they  demanded 
a  leader. 

They  were  ready  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  government,  if  it  should  seek  to  enforce 
the  unjust  decree.  They  asked  Foghorn  to 

213 


A  Strange  Flaw 

lead  them.  He  refused  and  advised  submis- 
sion, telling  them  that  it  was  useless  to  fight 
the  government  of  the  United  States.  A 
meeting  for  the  purposes  of  organization  was 
called  at  the  Court  House,  and  when  they  had 
assembled  to  organize,  the  first  question  that 
came  before  the  meeting  was,  what  the  organ- 
ization should  be  called.  Elder  Goodman 
insisted  that  it  should  be  named  "God's  Chil- 
dren," while  R.  Gospel  Windysoul  insisted 
that  the  name  of  God  should  not  be  connected 
with  it.  Judge  Muller  insisted  that  it  be 
called  "The  Good  Party  League,"  and  Hans 
Dummeldeutch  contended  that  it  should  be 
called  the  "German-American  Band,"  and 
nearly  every  sect  and  clique  in  society  had  a 
different  name  with  which  they  wanted  to 
christen  the  organization.  The  debate  be- 
came very  warm  and  bitter,  and  each  cham- 
pion was  unyielding  in  his  views.  A  motion 
was  made  to  call  it  "God's  Children,"  by  the 
Methodist  party,  and  a  half  dozen  amend- 
ments made  to  it  by  persons  desiring  to  give 
it  a  different  name,  and  these  motions  were 
all  substituted  by  a  motion  offered  by  G.  W. 
Lyer  that  the  organization  have  no  name  at 
all.  This  was  amended  by  H.  E.  Q.  Grip, 

214 


A  Strange  Flaw 

who  wished  it  to  be  called  all  the  names  which 
had  been  proposed  for  it,  and  on  these  mo- 
tions, amendments,  substitutes  and  amended 
substitutes  the  violence  of  the  debate  contin- 
ued until  nearly  midnight,  and  when  the  ques- 
tion was  finally  put  it  was  defeated,  and  the 
several  parties  became  so  greatly  enraged  that 
they  left  the  room,  denouncing  each  other  as 
having  been  the  aiders  and  abettors  of  Bragg 
and  his  scheme. 

During  all  this  time  there  burned  in  Harry 
Hawkins'  breast  an  ambition  to  be  the  savior 
of  the  community.  If  he  could  only  defeat 
this  unjust  decree  and  remedy  the  terrible 
wrongs  perpetrated  by  these  railroad  schem- 
ers, how  blessed  his  name  would  be  to  all  pos- 
terity. The  opportunity  that  he  had  so  often 
hoped  for  was  now  at  hand.  He  would  cut 
loose  from  all  the  cliques  and  organize  a  band 
of  young  men  like  himself,  and  they  would 
carry  on  a  guerrilla  warfare  against  the  offi- 
cers who  might  seek  to  enforce  the  decree. 
His  cause,  he  was  certain,  was  just,  and  it 
could  not  fail  to  succeed.  He  was  goaded  on 
to  this  course  by  the  recollections  of  the  ter- 
rible wrongs  which  he  and  those  he  loved  had 

215 


A  Strange  Flaw 

suffered,  and  now  he  was  ready  to  fight  till 
death.  So  he  organized  a  few  hundred  young 
men,  who  announced  themselves  determined 
to  fight  to  the  last. 


216 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  XIV 

SUPREME    COURT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES 

Meanwhile  Foghorn  worked  diligently, 
perfecting  his  appeals  in  the  cases.  This  liti- 
gation occurred  before  the  United  States  Cir- 
cuit Court  of  Appeals  was  created,  and  hence 
cases  were  directly  reviewed  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  This  court  was 
composed  of  nine  judges,  who  dressed  in  black 
alpaca  kimonas,  and  at  precisely  high  noon 
appeared  in  solemn  pomp  and  arranged  them- 
selves upon  the  bench  in  their  great  arm- 
chairs. Much  study  and  deep  thought  and 
the  weighty  cares  and  responsibilities  of  their 
offices  had  caused  most  of  them  to  accumulate 
a  portliness  that  an  alderman  might  envy. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  settlers 
were  unable  to  give  bonds  to  stay  the  execu- 
tion of  the  writ  to  eject  them,  and  Duncan 
could  at  any  time  order  such  writs  to  issue, 
he  refrained  from  doing  so  until  after  the 
hearing  of  the  cases  on  appeal,  dreading  the 

217 


A  Strange   Flaw 

trouble  sure  to  follow  the  dispossessing  of  the 
people  and  the  effect  it  might  have  on  the 
hearings.  The  importance  of  the  cases  en- 
abled Foghorn  to  get  their  hearing  advanced, 
and  finally  before  the  ponderous  presence  of 
the  royal  nine  came  the  Skunk  Creek  and 
Skeighi  Railroad  Company,  pleading  for  just- 
ice against  these  citizens  who  insisted  upon 
occupying  its  property.  One  of  the  nine  had 
sat  on  the  Circuit  bench,  and  tried  the  case  in 
the  court  below,  and  so  could  take  no  part 
in  its  decision  on  the  appeal.  The  cases  were 
ordered  argued  and  submitted  together,  and 
attorneys  representing  each  side  permitted  to 
make  oral  argument  and  submit  written  briefs. 
There  were  other  attorneys  who  represented 
the  settlers,  but  Enoch  Foghorn  was  the  one 
on  whose  shoulders  the  main  responsibility 
was  placed.  It  seemed  as  if  all  his  previous 
experiences  had  been  fitting  him  for  this  su- 
preme occasion.  He  had  come  into  this  coun- 
try in  an  early  day  and  had  witnessed  the  tri- 
als and  struggles  of  the  settlers  in  building 
their  homes.  He  had  watched  their  children 
grow  up  from  infancy  and  he  had  that  hon- 
est character  which  despises  fraud  and  de- 
tests hypocrisy,  however  masked,  and  he  could 

218 


A  Strange   Flaw 

feel  in  his  own  person  the  horrible  injustice 
of  the  lower  court's  decree,  and  when  he  arose 
to  address  the  Supreme  judges  his  brow  bee- 
tled ominously  and  his  eyes  were  like  flaming 
swords  that  searched  for  the  very  inwards  of 
the  occupants  of  the  bench.  His  voice  trem- 
bled, but  not  with  weakness.  It  was  the 
hoarse  diapason  of  the  gathering  tempest.  As 
he  proceeded  it  stiffened  in  timbre  until  its 
tones  became  terrible  and  fear  spread  among 
his  opponents.  The  judges  leaned  forward 
with  robes  awry,  as  if  they  were  tied  to  the 
speaker  by  invisible  bonds,  and  from  the  ex- 
pression of  their  faces  it  was  clear  that  he 
was  playing  upon  their  heart-strings,  when  he 
told  them  how  his  clients  had  come  to  this 
land  when  it  was  wild,  drove  out  the  reptiles 
and  savage  beasts,  tore  up  the  stumps,  re- 
moved the  stones  and  made  it  fit  for  tillage. 
How  they  had  endured  the  pinching  winters 
and  the  scorching  summers,  and  by  their  long 
and  patient  toil  and  self-denial  had,  from  these 
rugged  and  hard  conditions,  saved  up  the 
price  the  nation  asked  and  bought  their  patents 
from  the  government,  assuring  them  of  per- 
fect title.  And  now  it  was  proposed,  in  their 
old  age,  to  strip  them  of  their  lands  and  make 

219 


A   Strange   Flaw 

them  paupers  in  life's  dreary  winter  and  give 
their  homes  to  other  men  to  multiply  their 
millions,  who  had  never  given  a  farthing  for 
these  lands;  and  this  in  the  name  of  Justice. 
When  he  said  this  each  judge  grew  red  about 
his  temples,  his  eyes  beamed  with  a  holy  light 
that  came  from  his  inmost  soul,  his  eyelids 
seemed  inflamed  and  swollen  with  tears  of 
righteous  pity,  and  Bra^g  then  thought  the 
judgment  day  was  coming.  Foghorn  then 
felt  the  universe  at  his  back ;  that  all  the  mar- 
tyred dead  who  had  died  for  justice  had  risen 
again,  and  with  myriads  of  mighty  angels 
were  fighting  for  his  cause.  He  then,  in  tones 
that  touched  the  very  marrow  of  his  auditors, 
said: 

"You,  sirs,  are  sitting  on  the  loftiest  seat 
that  man  has  ever  raised  before  high  heaven. 
'Tis  grounded  on  the  graves  of  men  who  ever 
fought  for  human  rights.  Their  blood  ce- 
ments its  structure  and  your  panopoly  must 
ever  be  a  nation's  confidence  and  trust.  Great 
souls  have  been  your  predecessors.  Their 
brave  and  honest  minds,  with  justice  ever  for 
their  guide,  have  made  this  seat  a  hallowed 
shrine,  fit  only  for  such  as  consecrate  them- 
selves to  such  a  cause.  But  never  since  this 

220 


A  Strange  Flaw 

pinnacle  was  raised  has  any  occupant  had  a 
better  chance  to  slay  a  hydra-headed  fiend 
than  you  now  have.  If  you  are  worthy  of  this 
lofty  seat  and  fit  to  wear  the  halo  which 
adorns  this  place,  now  show  your  mettle.  Say 
to  this  gang  of  pirates  that  the  stars  and 
stripes  still  stand  for  justice  and  for  human 
rights,  and  to  the  thousands  that  these  scoun- 
drels would  despoil,  speak  the  strong  assur- 
ance of  a  nation's  faith  whose  mighty  arm 
still  shields  the  weak  and  curbs  the  strong. 
Do  this  and  break  the  clouds  that  cover  this 
fair  land  and  threaten  to  destroy  a  thousand 
homes.  Do  this  and  send  the  inspiring  rays 
of  hope  into  ten  thousand  now  despairing 
hearts.  Do  this  and  raise  so  high  above  the 
mists  of  doubt  and  crime  the  beauteous  image 
of  the  eternal  right  that  all  the  world  shall 
see  and  men  of  every  clime  and  age  arise  and 
call  you  blessed." 

When  Foghorn  ceased  his  speech  the  very 
air  in  all  the  hall  seemed  charged  by  power 
invisible,  and  all  who  heard  him  felt  the  gates 
were  closed  against  the  opposition.  Dun- 
can's attorney,  Parsnip,  made  a  feeble  effort 
to  reply,  but  his  voice  sounded  so  wicked  and 
out  of  place  that  even  he  felt  guilty  of  a  crime 

221 


A  Strange  Flaw 

in  trying  to  defend  his  client.  It  seemed  as 
if  hosts  of  liveried  angels  were  hissing  at  him 
from  every  quarter  of  the  hall.  His  tongue 
was  partly  palsied,  his  ideas  fought  each 
other  and  his  words  came  forth  in  incoherent 
tangles,  and  every  point  he  tried  to  make  was 
like  a  blow  struck  by  a  rubber  weapon  on  a 
wall  of  adamant,  that  bounded  back  and  hit 
the  assailant.  The  judges  settled  backward  in 
their  chairs,  and  on  their  faces  one  could 
plainly  read  that  they  were  set  against  him, 
and  so  they  had  remained  had  not  a  dot  been 
noticed  on  the  grant.  While  thus  engaged 
in  argument  descanting  on  the  first  two  let- 
ters of  the  word,  and  looking  at  the  grant, 
Parsnip  observed  a  little  speck  above  the 
letter  which  he  claimed  was  i,  and  seeing 
this  he  started  like  he  had  seen  a  spirit.  It 
was  an  inspiration  and  his  dull  and  stupid 
argument  now  became  forceful.  Raising  the 
grant  in  one  hand  before  the  court,  and  point- 
ing the  index  finger  of  the  other  to  this  speck, 
he  shouted  loudly,  "See  here,  your  Honors, 
how  the  i  is  dotted !  'Tis  small,  indeed,  but 
large  enough  to  place  the  imprint  of  eternal 
truth  upon  the  justice  of  our  cause." 

Foghorn  was  on  his  feet  in  a  moment  and 

222 


A  Strange  Flaw 

demanded  to  see  the  grant,  denounced  the  dot 
a  forgery  and  declared  it  was  not  on  the  grant 
when  the  suit  was  in  the  lower  court.  The 
excitement  became  intense.  The  judges  asked 
to  see  the  grant,  and  sure  enough  there  was 
a  dot.  That  seemed  to  fix  the  status  of  the 
letter  written  first,  and  thus  the  reading  of 
the  grant.  The  judge  who  tried  the  case 
below,  being  present,  soon  quieted  the  dis- 
turbance by  declaring  the  dot  was  there  when 
he  tried  it.  From  that  time  on,  Parsnip  had 
easy  sailing.  He  felt  his  case  was  won,  and 
so  declared,  and  by  their  looks  the  judges 
seemed  unanimous  for  him.  When  Foghorn 
took  the  floor  to  make  reply,  it  was  a  trying 
situation.  'Tis  difficult  for  any  lawyer  to 
meet  such  a  surprise  on  so  short  a  notice.  For 
a  moment  he  stood  silent,  gathering  force. 
Then  starting  in  low  tones,  clear  but  scarcely 
audible,  his  voice  became  louder  as  he  pro- 
ceeded, and  from  a  small  beginning  he 
launched  forth  a  mighty  torrent  against  his 
adversary.  He  pictured  before  the  court  in 
lines  of  fire  the  avalanche  of  misery  that  must 
descend  upon  the  wretched  people  on  these 
lands  if  Parsnip  should  prevail.  "Could  this 
mere  speck,"  he  asked,  "small  as  a  gnat's 

223 


A  Strange  Flaw 

egg,  thinner  than  the  shadow  of  a  lie,  be 
made  a  pretext  to  commit  so  great  a  crime  ? — 
a  mark  that  any  one  could  forge  at  any  time 
without  discovery."  Who  had  placed  it  there, 
he  said,  was  now  unknown,  and  yet  'twas 
claimed  this  trifling  thing  should  be  sufficient 
to  cause  the  nation's  grant,  made  to  its  honest 
citizens,  a  cheat  and  lie.  Then  casting  his 
eyes  around  the  hall  he  raised  his  hands  im- 
ploringly, as  if  invoking  the  unseen,  and  said : 
"Spirits  of  Marshall  and  of  Jay,  and  all  the 
mighty  dead  whose  memories  glorify  this  sto- 
ried hall,  have  all  the  broad  foundations  that 
you  laid  for  Justice  and  for  human  rights 
shrunk  to  so  small  a  point?  Have  all  the 
pillars  of  this  temple  that  your  hands  so 
firmly  placed  become  so  weak  and  rotten  that 
a  plea  like  this  can  find  an  audience  in  so 
great  a  court?  If  this  is  Justice,  burn  up 
your  dockets,  and  resign ;  tear  down  the  God- 
dess with  her  even-handed  scales,  install  the 
impenitent  thief  the  nation's  patron  saint  and 
ask  some  fiend  of  hell  to  write  the  name  of 
fraud  on  every  facade  of  this  capitol." 

Thus  the  cases  were  submitted  to  be  de- 
cided when  the  court  got  ready.  Immediately 
thereafter  Duncan  concluded  to  dispossess  the 

224 


A  Strange  Flaw 

people  of  their  lands,  and  accordingly  ordered 
writs  of  ejectment  to  issue  on  the  judgments 
obtained  in  the  court  below. 

Finally,  one  Autumn  afternoon  in  the 
month  of  October,  three  men  drove  into  Lit- 
tletown.  They  were  the  United  States  mar- 
shal and  his  deputies.  They  found  the  vil- 
lage quiet  and  everybody  busy  at  work  when 
they  arrived.  As  they  surveyed  this  peaceful 
little  place,  in  the  yellow  sunlight  of  Autumn, 
with  its  humble  people  dwelling  in  the  little 
homes  they  had  built  years  ago,  and  working 
patiently  to  earn  an  honest  living  for  them- 
selves and  families,  and  they  thought  of  the 
task  which  they  were  commanded  to  perform, 
the  hearts  of  the  officers  nearly  failed  them. 
The  marshal  said  to  those  with  him,  "Gentle- 
men, I  hate  this  job.  Here  these  people  are 
quietly  at  work  and  peacefully  dwelling  in  the 
cottages  they  have  built,  and  to  turn  them  out 
in  the  cold  on  the  threshold  of  the  coming 
Winter  seems  too  hard.  I  would  resign  my 
office  if  I  could  prevent  its  being  done,  but 
if  we  don't  do  it  some  one  else  will,  and  we 
might  as  well  commence." 

So  they  drove  up  to  a  little  house  near  by 
them,  hitched  their  horses  and  got  out  to 

225 


A  Strange   Flaw 

begin  their  work.  A  soldier's  widow,  by  the 
name  of  Mary  Marion,  with  a  little  family 
of  children,  occupied  this  house.  The  mar- 
shal, Horace  Ketchem,  knocked  at  the  door. 
She  opened  it  and  pleasantly  invited  him  to 
have  a  seat.  Her  three  little  children,  a  girl 
of  seven,  a  boy  of  five  and  a  girl  of  three, 
seeing  a  stranger  come  in,  clung  close  to  their 
mother  and  looked  at  him  with  great  curi- 
osity. The  sight  of  these  helpless  children, 
gathered  about  this  weak  and  defenseless 
mother,  might  have  stayed  the  march  of  a 
hyena,  and  the  marshal  more  than  ever  felt 
a  shrinking  from  his  task.  But  he  was  the 
executor  of  a  cruel  law,  which  spared  neither 
widows  nor  orphans.  He  had  a  writ  issued  in 
the  name  of  the  president  of  the  United  States, 
sealed  and  attested  by  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  commanding  him 
to  commit  the  monstrous  crime.  He  asked 
her  name.  "Mary  Marion,"  she  said,  hop- 
ing that  it  was  some  friend  or  comrade  of  her 
dead  husband  that  had  come  to  help  them. 
The  marshal  found  his  writ  against  her  and 
turning  to  her  said : 

"Madam,  I  have  a  very  unpleasant  duty  to 
perform.     The  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 

226 


A  Strange  Flaw 

States  has  decided  that  this  property  upon 
which  you  are  living  belongs  to  the  Skunk 
Creek  and  Skeighi  Railroad  Company,  and 
I  have  come  with  a  writ  of  ejectment  to  put 
you  off." 

"Oh!  that  cannot  be,"  said  she,  in  great 
fright  and  astonishment.  "My  poor  husband 
bought  this  place  and  paid  for  it  before  he 
went  to  fight  for  his  country.  And  when  we 
parted  he  said  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  'Mary, 
darling,  if  I  do  not  return,  never  sell  this 
little  cottage.  I  have  paid  for  it,  and  if  I 
shall  be  slain,  you  and  the  children  will  al- 
ways have  a  home.'  I  have  the  deed  in  the 
house  and  I  can  show  it  to  you." 

"You  need  not  mind,"  said  the  marshal; 
"you  must  leave  this  place  immediately,  and 
if  you  do  not  the  law  makes  it  my  duty  to 
compel  you  to." 

"Then  you  will  have  to  compel  me  to," 
she  said,  as  she  began  sobbing,  and  her  little 
children  clustered  around  her  saying,  "Don't 
cry,  mamma,  don't  cry,  mamma." 

The  marshal  then  began  setting  her  chairs 
out  in  the  street.  As  soon  as  she  saw  him 
doing  that,  she  fell  on  her  knees  at  his  feet, 
and  in  the  most  pleading  and  piteous  tones 

227 


A  Strange  Flaw 

said,  "Oh,  spare  me  for  the  sake  of  my  poor 
children.  Do  not  turn  us  out  of  doors.  We 
have  no  place  to  go.  The  cold  winter  will 
come  and  I  shall  be  without  shelter  for  myself 
and  little  ones.  God  will  bless  you  if  you 
will  but  spare  me.  Have  you  no  pity  for  a 
poor  widow  and  her  helpless  orphans?" 

"It  is  useless  to  plead,"  said  Ketchem,  "it 
is  not  I  but  the  law  that  turns  you  out.  I 
only  do  my  duty." 

"Oh,  cruel  law,"  she  sobbed.  "Oh,  wicked 
duty,  to  render  widows  and  orphans  home- 
less. This  house  is  no  use  to  you.  You  would 
not  live  here.  Oh,  for  God's  sake  please  let 
us  stay  here.  I  will  work  for  you.  I  will 
wash  and  sew  night  and  day.  I  will  do  any- 
thing if  you  will  only  let  us  stay  until  my 
little  ones  are  old  enough  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  Oh,  do  let  us  stay !" 

"I  would  let  you  stay  if  I  could,  but  the 
court  has  ordered  me  to  put  you  out  and  out 
you  must  go,"  said  he  sternly  as  he  pushed  her 
away. 

Chairs  sitting  in  the  street  soon  attracted 
attention,  and  it  was  rumored  that  the  officers 
had  come  to  turn  the  people  out  of  their 
homes.  Harry  heard  of  it  and  he,  with  a 

228 


A  Strange  Flaw 

dozen  more,  went  to  where  the  marshal  and 
his  deputies  were  carrying  out  furniture.  As 
soon  as  he  saw  Mrs.  Marion  and  her  little 
children  weeping,  Harry's  indignation  was 
aroused  to  the  highest  pitch.  He  approached 
the  marshal  and  accosted  him  thus : 

"What  are  you  doing,  sir?" 

"I  am  executing  a  writ  of  ejectment,  if  it 
is  any  of  your  business,"  replied  the  marshal. 

"It's  every  man's  business  when  a  helpless 
woman  and  her  little  children  are  being  turned 
into  the  streets,"  answered  Harry.  "And  it's 
my  business  to  tell  you  to  carry  that  furniture 
back  where  you  got  it,  immediately,  if  you 
expect  to  leave  here  alive." 

"Who  are  you  that  dares  interfere  with  the 
officers  of  the  law?"  demanded  the  marshal. 

"I  am  a  man  that  has  no  respect  for  the 
officers  or  the  law  that  would  steal  from  this 
poor  widow  her  home,"  responded  Harry. 

"Don't  you  know  that  the  Circuit  Court  of 
the  United  States  has  decided  that  this  prop- 
erty belongs  to  the  Railroad  Company?" 
asked  the  marshal. 

"Don't  you  know  that  the  people  of  Little- 
town   have    appealed    from   that   decision?" 
shouted  Harry,  defiantly. 
229 


A  Strange   Flaw 

"Why  do  you  not  give  bonds  and  stop  the 
writ  of  ejectment?"  asked  the  marshal. 

"We  cannot,  but  we  can  appeal  to  arms  and 
the  god  of  battles,"  continued  Harry.  "Tell 
the  Skunk  Creek  and  Skeighi  Railroad  Com- 
pany, if  it  wants  our  homes,  it  must  walk  over 
our  graves  to  get  them.  We  will  defend  our 
firesides  with  our  lives.  Our  court  has  issued 
a  writ  of  mandamus  commanding  you  to  carry 
that  furniture  back  and  get  out  of  this  town 
inside  of  thirty  minutes,  or  your  necks  will 
be  stretched  to  the  nearest  tree,  and  we  have 
come  to  execute  that  writ  and  you  had  bettei 
be  at  it." 

The  marshal  saw  that  he  was  overpowered 
with  numbers,  and  it  was  useless  to  refuse, 
so  he  and  his  deputies  reluctantly  carried  the 
furniture  back  to  its  place.  When  they  had 
done,  Harry  said,  "Now  you  get  out  of  this 
country  as  soon  as  your  horses  can  carry  you." 

And  they  went.  As  they  were  driving  away 
the  people  clapped  their  hands  and  yelled, 
"Good  bye,  come  again,"  in  derision. 
Women  shook  their  handkerchiefs  at  them 
and  boys  yelled  at  them  as  they  rode  through 
the  streets. 

The  conduct  of  Harry  and  his  associates 

230 


A  Strange  Flaw 

was  highly  applauded.  He  was  looked  upon 
as  a  hero.  He  had  no  trouble  in  organizing 
a  large  company,  of  which  he  was  made  cap- 
tain, ready  to  meet  force  with  force  when  it 
came. 

In  a  few  days  the  marshal  appeared  again 
with  a  hundred  United  States  soldiers  in  reg- 
ular uniforms,  armed  with  swords  and  mus- 
kets. They  began  to  put  Mrs.  Marion's  fur- 
niture out  into  the  street  again. 

Oh,  it  was  a  noble  sight  to  see.  One  hun- 
dred great,  broad-shouldered  men,  uniformed 
and  knapsacked,  belted  and  labeled  U.  S., 
and  armed  to  the  teeth,  engaged  in  vanquish- 
ing a  weeping  woman,  and  putting  her  and 
her  children  into  the  streets  to  carry  out  Dun- 
can's infamous  scheme;  but  the  Circuit  Court 
had  said  it  was  justice. 

Harry  and  his  men  were  ready.  They 
scattered  themselves  behind  trees  and  build- 
ings awaiting  the  onset,  and  watching  for  the 
first  man  that  should  appear  from  the  house 
with  any  of  the  widow's  furniture.  Soon  one 
of  the  deputy  marshals  came  out  with  a  chair 
in  each  hand,  and  just  as  he  passed  through 
the  gate,  crack,  crack,  crack,  went  a  dozen 
rifles,  and  he  fell  dead,  perforated  with  bul- 

231 


A  Strange  Flaw 

lets.  It  now  began  to  be  a  serious  business; 
the  other  deputy  and  the  marshal  had  just 
started  out  with  chairs,  but  they  set  them 
down  to  think  a  minute.  They  didn't  like 
the  aspect  of  affairs.  The  enemy  were  all  in 
ambush.  They  could  not  see  any  one  to  shoot 
and  they  were  in  an  exposed  place,  where,  if 
they  kept  at  work  they  might  be  shot  down, 
one  at  a  time,  like  sheep.  Finally  they  con- 
cluded to  go  back  and  get  more  help  and  sub- 
jugate the  country  as  they  proceeded.  So  they 
picked  up  their  dead  comrade  and  retreated 
in  good  order. 

In  a  few  days  a  thousand  men  of  the  regu- 
lar army,  with  several  pieces  of  artillery,  came 
with  the  marshal  to  execute  the  writs  of  eject- 
ment. 

In  order  to  intimidate  the  people,  when 
they  got  to  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  they 
fired  their  cannon  and  sent  several  shells 
screaming  through  the  air.  They  then  sent 
a  messenger  to  treat  with  the  inhabitants, 
threatening  to  kill  every  one  without  regard 
to  age  or  sex,  if  any  further  resistance  was 
made,  and  demanding  that  Harry  and  his 
comrades  lay  down  their  arms. 

The  women  and  children,  in  terror,  were 

232 


A  Strange  Flaw 

screaming  in  the  streets.  Old  men,  ghastly 
with  fear,  advised  submission.  The  utter 
hopelessness  of  resistance  seemed  apparent. 
Many  of  Harry's  comrades  weakened  and 
he  saw  that  he  would  soon  be  alone,  and  now 
comprehended  the  foolhardiness  of  the  un- 
dertaking which  sympathy  had  led  him  into. 
As  he  looked  in  the  blank  faces  and  heard 
the  tremulous  voices,  and  saw  the  quivering 
forms  of  his  comrades  whose  courage  had 
melted  away  so  quickly,  he  decided  to  aban- 
don resistance  by  arms  and  resort  to  strategy. 
As  soon  as  the  message  was  returned  that 
the  people  would  lay  down  their  arms,  the 
marshal  immediately  ordered  the  arrest  of 
their  leader  for  high  treason,  and  a  detach- 
ment was  sent  for  him.  They  asked  Mrs. 
Marion  who  he  was,  and  she  told  them  it 
was  Harry  Hawkins,  and  where  he  might  be 
found.  As  soon  as  he  was  arrested  the  work 
of  ejectment  was  continued.  Family  after 
family  were  turned  into  the  streets.  In  some 
instances  a  soldier  was  left  in  possession;  in 
others  the  door  was  locked,  and  by  nightfall 
a  hundred  families  were  homeless.  It  was  a 
pitiful  sight  to  see.  When  the  morning  came 
the  work  of  ejectment  went  on.  It  is  useless 

233 


A  Strange   Flaw 

to  follow  it  with  all  its  hideousness.  It  is 
the  same  sad  story  through  and  through.  It 
was  an  excruciating  sight  at  best,  but  it  was 
supremely  so  to  see  Harry's  mother  turned 
out  of  the  old  homestead  into  the  street,  but 
Harry  was  saved  from  that.  He  was  taken 
to  Bigburg  and  thrust  into  prison. 


234 


A  Strange  Flaw 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  SENTENCE  OF  DEATH 

The  cloud  that  had  so  long  been  gathering 
over  the  unfortunate  people  of  the  country 
which  lay  in  the  shadow  of  the  "Flaw"  dis- 
covered by  the  tramp,  had  at  last  burst  with 
all  its  fury. 

Homeless,  in  poverty,  in  the  midst  of  Win- 
ter; old  age,  childhood,  mother  and  maid, 
widow  and  orphan,  all  were  thrown  into  the 
street.  What  could  they  do  ?  There  was  no 
work  to  earn  food  or  shelter.  There  was  no 
friend  that  had  shelter  to  give.  The  earth 
had  been  decided  to  be  the  property  of  this 
corporation,  and,  in  the  name  of  justice,  it 
had  remorselessly  thrust  them  forth  to  starve, 
or  freeze  in  the  Winter's  cold.  Meanwhile 
they  were  prosecuting  an  appeal  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States. 

In  vain  did  they  cast  their  pleading  eyes  to 
heaven  and  ask  if  a  "God"  were  there.  In 
vain  did  they  appeal  to  the  officers  of  the  law 

235 


A  Strange  Flaw 

for  mercy,  for  they  had  no  discretion.  In 
vain  did  they  ask  each  other  for  shelter,  for 
all  were  destitute.  Like  poor,  wrecked  voy- 
agers cast  adrift  upon  a  tempestuous  sea,  each 
must  find  his  grave  the  best  he  could. 

Many,  palsied  with  age  or  stricken  by  dis- 
ease, found  relief  in  death.  Others  secured 
employment  and  homes  in  adjoining  coun- 
ties. But  the  larger  portion  arranged  to  rent 
the  lands  of  the  Railroad  Company  until  such 
a  time  as  their  cases  were  decided. 

In  a  damp  and  miserable  dungeon  Harry 
had  found  shelter.  Its  horrid  walls  sweat 
with  a  loathsome  and  bitter  air  which  dis- 
gusted the  lungs  and  stupefied  the  brain.  Be- 
yond its  darkness  the  glimmer  of  day  might 
be  seen  when  the  sun  was  shining.  Save  these 
and  the  scanty  meals  served,  he  had  no  way 
to  mark  the  fleeting  time.  As  the  dismal  days 
wore  on,  his  mind  was  mainly  occupied  with 
the  past.  His  early  childhood  in  the  beauti- 
ful Spring,  as  he  bounded  o'er  the  green  hills 
in.  search  of  early  flowers,  or  hunted  for  the 
nests  of  wild  birds  in  the  leafy  forests  in  Sum- 
mer; the  days  upon  the  farm  and  in  the  dis- 
trict school;  the  companions  of  his  boyhood; 
these  all  came  back.  And  then  he  thought 

236 


A  Strange  Flaw 

of  the  day  in  the  store  when  Jennie  and  he 
first  knew  each  other's  love;  of  the  happy 
meetings  by  the  lake  before  Bragg  came  to 
Littletown. 

In  due  time  the  grand  jury  met  and  he  was 
indicted  for  treason,  and  the  day  for  him  to 
be  arraigned  was  set.  On  this  day  Enoch 
Foghorn,  G.  W.  Lyer,  Oliver  Cromwell 
Jinks,  Mrs.  Jinks  and  Jennie,  Rev.  Good- 
man, and  Harry's  mother  and  others  went 
to  Bigburg  to  see  what  they  could  do 
to  secure  his  release.  They  were  permitted 
to  visit  him  in  the  prison  and  they  found 
him  serene  and  determined.  Foghorn  at  one 
time  looked  upon  Harry  as  his  only  friend, 
and  when  they  met  in  that  prison,  long  and 
sorrowful  was  their  embrace.  Though  one 
had  felt  the  frosts  of  age  and  stood  in  life's 
dreary  winter,  and  the  other  was  on  the 
threshold  of  manhood's  morning,  yet  both 
were  old  in  sorrow  and  felt  that  strange  and 
holy  love  which  comes  to  companions  in  grief. 
Foghorn  was  weeping. 

"Harry,"  he  said,  "I  have  seen  many  mis- 
fortunes and  have  borne  crushing  afflictions 
with  patience.  While  the  world  hated  me 
and  it  seemed  as  if  poverty  and  want  were 

237 


A  Strange   Flaw 

staring  me  in  the  face,  I  looked  into  your 
fresh  young  countenance  and  found  hope.  I 
believed  that  God  had  created  you  to  follow 
in  my  footsteps  and  take  up  the  battle  in  be- 
half of  right  when  I  am  gone.  I  said,  the 
boy  will  show  them  some  day  that  God  reigns 
and  that  justice,  though  long  delayed,  will 
come.  But  now  the  cruel  shafts  of  injustice 
are  aimed  at  your  life,  and  my  poor  heart  is 
well-nigh  broken." 

"My  dear  old  friend,"  said  Harry,  "I  have 
had  many  fond  dreams  of  greatness,  and  have 
looked  to  you  to  learn  the  path  of  honor. 
You  have  always  been  a  true  friend  to  me, 
and  it  pains  me  to  see  you  weep.  I  have  been 
indicted  for  treason.  I  will  plead  guilty  to 
the  charge.  I  am  proud  to  be  distinguished 
as  the  enemy  of  oppression,  and  I  am  ready 
to  meet  death  as  the  foe  of  organized  cruelty. 
Foghorn,  you  are  an  old  man.  Nature,  ere 
long,  will  kindly  call  you  home.  I  might  have 
stayed  for  many  years  to  suffer  the  afflictions 
which  honor  must  receive  from  dishonor.  I 
might  have  brought  to  death  the  scoundrel 
who  has  wrought  our  woe,  but  it  matters  lit- 
tle. Death  will  reach  him  soon  enough,  for 
all  must  die.  Some  day  I  might  have  stood 

238 


A  Strange   Flaw 

beside  your  corpse  as  you  must  stand  by  mine, 
but  I  am  saved  this  sorrow.  My  sails  are 
spreading  for  a  brighter  world,  beyond  the 
reach  of  cruel  laws,  where  fraud  and  vice  may 
never  come.  Stand  firm,  old  man." 

"Oh,  Harry,"  said  Foghorn,  "plead,  'not 
guilty,'  and  I  will  go  before  the  court  and 
plead  in  your  behalf.  If  there  be  justice  in 
the  range  of  man  I'll  rake  the  skies,  but  I 
will  get  it.  Before  the  bar  I  will  arraign  the 
shameless  fiends  who  wrought  this  monstrous 
wrong.  In  words  of  fire  I'll  tell  the  horrid 
crimes  committed  by  their  hands.  I'll  show 
the  touching  woes  and  weeping  sorrows  made 
by  their  works.  I'll  tell  them  of  your  honor 
and  your  love,  and  of  the  pure  and  tender 
sympathy  that  led  you  to  it,  and  if  a  juror 
has  a  heart  I'll  wring  it  till  he  weeps  with 
sympathy,  and  make  his  every  pulse  in  anger 
cry  for  vengeance  against  this  great  oppres- 
sion. Even  as  I  speak  I  feel  the  awful 
promptings  of  resistless  power,  that  I  could 
tear  the  very  heavens  down  and  set  men  wild 
with  rage,  hearing  this  horrid  tale  of  woe. 
Oh,  Harry,  do  plead  'not  guilty,'  and  I  will 
plead  your  cause." 

"Mr.    Foghorn,"    replied   Harry,    "I   am 

239 


A  Strange  Flaw 

guilty.  I  take  more  pleasure  in  that  guilt 
than  in  the  little  life  that  you  might  save. 
Let  them  come  on,  my  neck  is  ready  for  the 
rope.  My  soul  aspires  to  leave  the  earth.  It 
only  mourns  to  leave  you  here.  But  I  must 
for  a  little  time." 

Jennie  Jinks  then  pleaded  with  him  with 
tears  in  her  eyes,  saying: 

"Oh!  Harry!  Please  forgive  me!  I 
know  I've  wronged  you  bitterly,  and  bitterly 
I've  answered  for  it.  The  year  last  past  has 
brought  me  naught  but  pain.  The  days  have 
dragged  in  sorrow  and  remorse,  the  nights 
been  full  of  painful  dreams.  Could  I  call 
back  again  those  happy  days  when  trusting 
love  filled  both  our  hearts  with  joy,  and  hope 
in  rainbow  colors  made  the  future  bright,  all 
that  is  left  in  life  to  me  I'd  give  for  one  short 
hour.  Dear  love,  will  you  forgive  me? 
'Twas  not  my  love  that  wavered.  My  heart 
was  ever  yours." 

Harry  seemed  much  affected  by  her  words 
but  he  answered : 

"Jennie,  I  do  believe  you,  and  if  aught 
could  shake  me  from  my  purpose,  the  mem- 
ory of  those  happy  days  and  of  the  love  you 

240 


A  Strange  Flaw 

bear  me  might  make  me  strive  for  that  slim 
chance  which  Foghorn  now  holds  out." 

"Oh,  Harry,  plead  not  guilty  and  let  him 
plead  your  cause,"  she  begged  piteously. 

"I  can  not,  for  I  am  guilty,"  was  his  an- 
swer. 

Mrs.  Jinks  then  said : 

"Harry,  I'm  much  to  blame.  I  did  not 
know  your  worth  and  wished  a  higher  match 
for  Jennie.  But  now  I  see  my  error.  You 
bravely  placed  your  life  in  peril  to  save  us  in 
our  homes.  Like  my  great  ancestor  at  Run- 
nymede,  who  fought  against  King  John,  you 
made  your  breast  a  bulwark  against  oppres- 
sion. I'm  tired  of  all  this  talk  of  dukes  and 
lords,  of  wealthy  suitors  and  of  railroad 
kings.  You're  nobleman  enough  for  me." 

Harry's  mother  was  overcome  with  her 
grief  and  for  a  moment  she  was  unable  to 
speak.  Finally  she  said  sobbingly: 

"Oh!  My  poor  son!  In  all  the  wide  do- 
main of  human  woe  there  are  no  pangs  that 
wring  a  mother's  heart  more  keen  than  this 
I  feel.  The  deadly  peril  threatening  you,  my 
son,  my  brave,  my  best  beloved,  my  only  son, 
the  goal  of  all  my  hopes,  strikes  like  a  poi- 
soned dagger  in  my  sad  heart.  My  boy,  if 

241 


A  Strange  Flaw 

any  ray  of  hope  is  seen  in  this  dark  hour, 
let's  follow  it  and  pray  for  succor  to  the  God 
of  justice." 

Harry  answered  with  much  feeling: 
"Mother,  your  tears,  your  hopes,  your 
prayers,  are  all  in  vain.  We  are  the  victims 
of  the  cruelest  gang  that  ever  made  a  govern- 
ment its  tool.  There  is  no  justice  on  the 
earth  for  us.  No  false  and  coward  plea  shall 
pass  my  lips." 

When  Harry  was  brought  into  court  to  be 
arraigned,  he  wore  a  proud,  defiant  air,  and 
plead  "guilty"  with  apparent  pleasure,  and 
said  he  was  ready  for  his  sentence.  The  court 
room  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
Many  had  come  to  see  the  culprit.  Doting 
fathers  had  brought  their  young  sons  that 
they  might  see  the  guilty  prisoner  and  be  kept 
from  iniquity  by  his  sad  career.  Ministers 
of  the  Gospel  were  also  present  in  large  num- 
bers, that  they  might  in  their  next  sermons 
depict  the  appearance  of  guilt,  and  regale 
their  congregations  with  moral  lessons  drawn 
from  the  great  depravity  of  this  public  crim- 
inal. Many  of  them  had  been  to  his  cell 
and  besought  him  to  forsake  his  sins  before 
it  was  too  late,  telling  him  that  "while  the 

242 


A  Strange  Flaw 

lamp  held  out  to  burn  the  vilest  sinner  might 
return."  There  were  also  many  ladies  in  that 
assemblage,  and  as  he  passed  in  with  firm 
and  upright  gait,  one  lady  remarked  to  an- 
other so  that  he  could  hear  it: 

"What  a  pity  that  one  so  young  and  hand- 
some should  be  so  very  wicked." 

Harry  stood  before  the  bench.  The  judge, 
who  was  then  presiding,  assumed  an  air  of 
great  commiseration,  and  said: 

"Harry  Hawkins,  you  have  been  indicted 
by  the  grand  jury  for  treason,  committed 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
To  this  infamous  charge  you  have  plead 
'guilty.'  The  punishment  of  this  offense  is 
death.  Have  you  anything  to  say,  why  a  sen- 
tence should  not  be  pronounced  against  you?" 

Harry  stood  erect  and  fixed  his  eyes  upon 
the  countenance  of  the  judge  as  he  spoke  in 
clear  and  bold  tones,  as  follows : 

"I  ask  no  mercy  at  your  hands.  You  are 
the  agent  of  rascality  and  the  tool  of  thieves. 
There  is  no  fraud  which  refined  villainy  can 
invent  or  fiends  contrive  which  is  not  fostered 
by  your  power.  There  is,  sir,  in  the  character 
of  fraud  an  essence  which  springs  from  the 
souls  of  devils,  and  whether  it  skulks  by  night 

243 


A   Strange   Flaw 

in  the  heart  of  a  thief  or  marches  at  the  sound 
of  drum  and  fife  in  the  habiliments  of  war, 
or  parades  itself  in  ermine,  in  the  name  of 
justice,  it  is  the  same  foul  and  despicable  es- 
sence, fit  only  for  the  flames  of  hell.  I  ar- 
raign this  government  as  a  robber;  and  al- 
though you  have  power  over  my  life,  yet  in 
your  face  I  say  that  I  am  proud  to  be  counted 
among  its  enemies.  Treason  to  robbers  is 
allegiance  to  God;  and  before  His  throne  I 
am  prepared  to  meet  the  agents  of  this  gov- 
ernment and  all  its  servile  crew;  and  there  in 
the  clear  light  of  truth,  in  accordance  with 
eternal  justice,  let  Him  judge  who  is  the  trai- 
tor. I  care  not  for  the  life  that  you  would  take. 
I  am  anxious  to  leave  a  land  where  justice  has 
no  dwelling  place.  Standing  on  the  brink  of 
eternity  I  suffer  to  see  the  wreck  around  me. 
That  a  land  wrung  from  the  clutch  of  British 
tyranny  by  the  hands  of  bleeding  patriots  and 
dedicated  by  them  as  the  home  of  justice 
should  so  degenerate  is  sad  indeed.  But  it 
can  not  long  endure.  Fraud  furnishes  the 
dagger  for  its  own  breast,  and  though  dressed 
in  iron  mail  and  guarded  round  by  a  million 
warrior  hosts,  it  has  a  rot  that  gnaws  within 
and  makes  it  perish  when  defended  best. 

244 


A  Strange  Flaw 

Bred  in  the  womb  of  such  colossal  frauds, 
calamities  innumerable  shall  be  born  and  vex 
this  land  with  horrors  yet  unknown.  Honor 
and  justice  in  despair  will  leave  the  earth, 
and  industry  no  longer  sweat  for  bread,  and 
from  the  cots  of  poverty  and  shops  of  toil, 
swarms  of  avengers  shall  rush  forth,  made 
desperate  by  long  years  of  wrong.  The  torch 
shall  turn  the  temple  into  smoke;  ashes  shall 
scatter  where  the  palace  stood,  and  dynamite 

shall  drink  the  rich  man's  blood " 

"Stop !  I'll  hear  no  more,"  exclaimed  the 
judge.  "Receive  the  sentence  of  the  court. 
Your  words  prove  you  a  traitor,  a  most  dan- 
gerous one.  The  law  must  be  enforced.  On 
its  obedience  all  our  rights  depend.  The  judg- 
ments of  its  courts  must  be  respected  until  re- 
versed. If  the  decision  was  an  error  the  ap- 
peal was  to  the  upper  court,  not  to  armed 
force,  resisting  the  court's  decrees.  As  an 
example  for  all  future  time  we  sentence  you 
to  death.  You  shall  be  taken  from  the  place 
where  now  confined  and  on  high  noon,  No- 
vember ist  next,  hanged  by  the  neck  until 
you  are  dead.  May  God  have  mercy  on  your 
soul.  This  is  our  sentence.  Is  there  no  other 
business?" 

245 


A  Strange   Flaw 

Being  informed  by  the  clerk  that  there  was 
no  other  business  the  court  adjourned.  Mrs. 
Hawkins,  Jennie,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jinks,  Good- 
man and  Lyer  all  clustered  about  Foghorn 
and  begged  him  to  take  an  appeal  to  save  the 
life  of  Harry,  but  Foghorn  said  that  he  had 
pleaded  guilty  and  that  there  was  no  hope  of 
relief  from  appeal.  All  were  much  cast  down 
in  grief  and  many  asked  if  nothing  could  be 
done.  Harry  asked  his  friends  not  to  take 
so  deep  an  interest  in  his  cause,  to  forget  his 
wrongs  and  let  him  take  his  course.  After 
meditating  a  few  moments  Foghorn  said: 
"There  is  only  one  escape — the  president  can 
pardon  him."  Then,  turning  to  Harry,  who 
was  about  to  be  taken  back  to  his  dungeon, 
he  said: 

"Young  friend,  this  blow  has  dazed  me, 
but  I  shall  recover  soon,  and  when  I  do  I'll 
make  this  nation  hear  the  story  of  your 
wrongs.  The  common  people  still  are  kind. 
Their  honest  hearts  yet  throb  for  justice.  Our 
fathers  wisely  placed  in  their  clean  hands  a 
power  to  right  our  wrongs.  The  president 
and  his  associates  now  stand  for  re-election 
and  plead  like  starving  beggars  for  the  votes 
of  honest  men.  From  your  dark  dungeon, 

246 


A   Strange   Flaw 

Harry,  shall  go  forth  a  cry  that  all  the  land 
shall  heed.  From  every  hill-top  a  broken- 
hearted mother's  wail  be  heard.  Thousands 
of  earnest  souls  shall  heed  its  sound  till  prai- 
rie, forest,  vale  and  mountain-side,  yes,  every 
part  of  our  fair  land,  will  echo  with  your 
cause.  The  patient,  sluggish  voter  who  so 
long  has  slept  while  villains  ruled  corruptly, 
shall  wake  at  last  and  to  the  polls,  the  free- 
man's peaceful  fortress,  the  many  shall  swarm 
forth  and  push  these  rascals  from  their  seats. 
The  rule  of  Duncan  will  be  no  more  and  the 
trembling  president  shall  offer  pardon  to  stay 
the  common  rage." 

Harry  was  then  taken  to  his  cell  and  his 
friends  went  sorrowfully  back  to  Littletown, 
determined  to  do  everything  possible  to  pro- 
cure a  pardon. 


247 


A  Strange   Flaw 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  END 

Henderson  Bragg  had  not  fully  compre- 
hended the  misery  that  would  be  caused  by 
the  consummation  of  the  scheme  he  had  un- 
dertaken. The  horrors  of  the  ejectments  had 
been  so  distressing  that  it  made  him  sick  at 
heart  to  hear  the  officers  tell  of  their  expe- 
riences, and  when  he  learned  that  Harry 
Hawkins  was  indicted  for  treason  and  was 
to  plead  guilty  he  urged  Duncan  to  see  the 
judge  and  use  his  influence  in  favor  of  a  light 
sentence.  But  Duncan  refused  and  insisted 
that  Hawkins  should  receive  the  death  pen- 
alty to  deter  others  from  imitating  him.  Dun- 
can relied  upon  fear  and  force  to  accomplish 
his  purposes  when  fraud  failed.  He  had 
mortgaged  the  road-bed  to  get  money  to  fin- 
ish the  road,  and  then  to  make  the  stock  issued 
to  those  who  had  built  the  road  worthless  he 
had  foreclosed  the  mortgage  and  bid  in  the 
property.  Thus  he  and  Bragg,  through  the 

248 


A  Strange  Flaw 

agency  of  the  Skunk  Creek  and  Skeighi  Rail- 
road Company,  had  become  the  owners  of 
the  entire  property,  which  they  finally  com- 
pleted and  put  in  operation.  If  the  Su- 
preme Court  affirmed  the  Circuit  Court  he 
and  Bragg  would  become  the  owners  of 
all  the  lands  in  the  several  counties 
through  which  the  road  was  located.  Dun- 
can had  no  fear  that  the  cases  would  be  re- 
versed, but  Bragg  became  frightened  when  he 
heard  the  speech  made  in  the  Supreme  Court 
by  Foghorn,  and  insisted  to  Duncan  that  there 
was  great  danger  that  the  Supreme  Court 
might  decide  in  favor  of  the  settlers. 

At  that  time  there  was  in  existence  in  the 
United  States  a  great  organization  called  the 
Railroad  Trust,  whose  object  was  to  combine 
and  merge  into  one  great  system  all  the  rail- 
roads and  steamship  lines  in  this  nation,  that 
thereby  it  might  procure  a  monopoly  of  the 
carrying  trade.  This  trust  was  controlled  by 
bold  buccaneers  in  finance  who  did  not  scruple 
at  any  means  to  attain  their  ends.  They  were 
so  interrelated  with  all  the  banks,  insurance 
companies  and  other  devices  for  collecting 
large  sums  of  money,  and  had  such  power 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  that  they 

249 


A  Strange  Flaw 

could  create  plenty  or  famine  in  the  available 
money  supply  at  will  and  they  held  in  their 
hands  the  leading  strings  of  all  the  great  po- 
litical parties  and  furnished  the  means  to  con- 
duct the  battles  that  waged  between  them. 
They  considered  themselves  secure  in  their 
absolute  dominion  over  the  material  interests 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Duncan 
was  in  this  combination,  and  when  he  found 
that  there  was  danger  of  a  reversal  he  began 
to  negotiate  with  the  Trust  to  get  it  to  pur- 
chase the  title  which  he  and  Bragg  possessed 
in  this  railroad  and  the  lands.  He  finally  got 
a  proposition  which  would  give  them  many 
millions,  but  he  thought  it  not  enough,  and 
was  trying  to  obtain  more,  when  the  great 
presidential  campaign  for  that  year  came  on. 
Crops  had  been  good  and  the  people  gen- 
erally prosperous,  all  of  which  was  attributed 
to  the  wise  administration  of  the  president 
and  his  party.  Everything  pointed  to  his 
easy  triumph  at  the  polls. 

Each  party  had  issued  its  customary  cam- 
paign book,  containing  stock  arguments  on 
the  tariff  and  money  questions,  and  everything 
augured  well  for  the  conduct  of  a  lifeless 
campaign,  resulting  in  the  election  of  a  "safe 

250 


A  Strange   Flaw 

and  sane"  ticket.  Suddenly  a  dark  cloud  ap- 
peared on  the  western  horizon,  which  in- 
creased so  rapidly  in  its  dimensions  as  to 
cause  politicians  to  fear  an  approaching 
storm. 

Foghorn  had  been  as  good  as  his  word. 
He  had  returned  to  the  afflicted  locality  and 
opened  fire  upon  the  administration  of  the 
president.  The  people  rushed  out  to  hear 
him  in  crowds,  caught  up  his  burning  words 
and  added  to  them,  and  every  one  became  an 
agitator,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  settlers'  cause 
was  taken  up  by  the  opposing  party  and  be- 
came first  a  state,  and  then  a  national 
issue.  A  few  of  the  states  considered  safe 
for  the  president  were  now  in  doubt,  because 
of  the  feeling  thus  engendered.  The  presi- 
dent saw  this  peril  to  himself  and  party  and 
felt  that  he  must  allay  this  opposition  if  he 
could. 

At  the  close  of  one  of  the  busiest  days  on 
the  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  during  which 
the  market  had  been  unusually  feverish,  Dun- 
can received  a  telegram  from  the  president 
asking  him  to  come  to  Washington  immedi- 
ately and  to  bring  Bragg  with  him,  stating 
that  the  summons  was  imperative.  So,  laying 

251 


A  Strange  Flaw 

everything  else  aside,  the  two  men  were  at 
the  president's  mansion  the  following  morn- 
ing before  ten  o'clock. 

"The  president  must  be  panic-stricken," 
said  Duncan  to  Bragg,  while  they  were  wait- 
ing. "Why  didn't  you  fix  that  Foghorn  on 
the  start?" 

"How?" 

"Retain  him  on  our  side." 

"Impossible." 

"Why  didn't  you  buy  him?  You  had  my 
purse  to  do  it." 

"Duncan,  you  can't  buy  everybody.  If  all 
the  bags  of  gold  piled  high  as  hillocks  in  the 
nation's  vaults  were  offered  him  to  sell  his 
conscience,  he'd  spurn  the  bribe  and  drive  the 
tempter  from  his  presence.' 

"And  he  a  lawyer,"  exclaimed  Duncan, 
"and  not  for  sale!  Ye  gods,  I  thought  this 
slick  profession  merely  merchandise  hawking 
its  talents  like  wares  at  auction  to  the  highest 
bidder.  You  did  not  approach  him  right." 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"When  you  saw  his  temper  you  should 
have  tacked  and  reached  him  indirectly." 

"How?" 

252 


A  Strange   Flaw 

"Worked  through  his  wife,  his  sister  or  a 
daughter." 

"He  is  as  tough  as  a  gnarled  oak  that  has 
no  rotten  spots,"  said  Bragg.  "When  first 
he  looked  at  me  his  penetrating  glance  pierced 
to  my  very  marrow.  Though  well  veneered 
with  honest  seeming  I  felt  myself  exposed  and 
naked  to  his  gaze." 

"Bragg,  I  am  surprised.  Your  conscience 
is  too  tender.  There's  where  you  fail  and 
publish  to  the  world  your  real  designs." 

"Have  you  no  conscience,  Duncan?" 

"Yes,  and  a  good  one,  too,  that,  like  a  per- 
fect stomach,  grinds  every  grist  and  causes 
me  no  discomfort." 

"I  own  I  am  not  equipped  for  tasks  like 
this,"  said  Bragg.  "I  do  not  relish  lying  and 
deceit,  fraud  and  hypocrisy.  My  conscience 
and  my  memory  both  were  taxed  beyond  the 
point  of  comfort." 

"I  see  you're  still  a  fool,  the  same  poor  fool 
that  tramped  and  begged  for  food  and  saw 
his  daughter  starve  to  death,"  was  the  sar- 
castic reply  of  Duncan. 

"I  wish  you  wouldn't  bring  that  matter 
up,"  retorted  Bragg.  "Then,  no  one  had  suf- 
fered at  my  hands." 

253 


A   Strange   Flaw 

"I've  made  you  rich,"  said  Duncan. 

"In  cash  and  crime,  but  not  in  character," 
retorted  Bragg.  "In  that  respect  the  poorest 
beggar  that  now  tramps  the  streets  has  more 
to  lose  than  Bragg." 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  Duncan  was  nettled 
at  this  last  remark,  and  was  very  glad  to  turn 
the  subject  when  the  door  opened  and  the 
president  entered.  He  appeared  much  agita- 
ted as  he  said : 

"Gentlemen,  I  am  much  disturbed." 

"What's  the  matter  now?"  asked  Duncan. 

"You  surely  know.  'Tis  the  trouble  you 
have  caused  by  your  transactions  in  the  West. 
Your  operations  there  have  raised  a  storm 
that  now  is  a  tornado,  and  it  is  moving  East 
with  frightful  fury,"  said  the  president.  "A 
man  called  Foghorn  looms  up  in  such  propor- 
tions that  his  very  breath  now  fills  the  sky 
with  clouds.  He's  talking  night  and  day. 
Thousands  rush  to  hear  him,  and  by  his  words 
are  made  my  enemies ;  even  the  mighty  dailies 
in  the  East  take  note  of  what  he  says,  and 
seem  to  heed  it.  He  must  be  stopped." 
.  "You'll  have  to  stop  his  breath,"  said 
Bragg;  "no  bribe  will  do  it." 

254 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"Who  is  this  girl  that  they  call  Jennie 
Jinks?"  asked  the  president. 

"She  is  an  English  maiden,  as  frail  as  the 
tender  blossom  that  a  summer  breeze  may 
sever  from  the  bough,"  answered  Bragg. 

"  Tis  said,"  continued  the  president,  "that 
she  goes  from  town  to  town  and  crowds  swarm 
out  to  hear  her  tell  her  tale  and  hearing  issue 
forth  and  swear  grim  vengeance  on  me  and 
my  government.  There  is  a  place  called  Lit- 
tletown,  where  every  man  and  woman  has 
turned  orator  and  scattered  like  the  sons  of 
Noah,  each  on  a  different  road,  and  where 
they  go  the  prairies  are  afire,  the  woods  aflame 
with  enmity  towards  me.  That  country 
where  your  road  was  built  is  hatred's  hot-bed, 
and  on  every  side  spreads  its  contagion  till 
even  Europe  has  turned  its  eyes  this  way. 

"I  can  do  nothing,"  said  Duncan.  "I  am 
not  in  politics.  Bragg  says  Foghorn  can't 
be  bought.  I  do  not  know  this  girl  or  any 
of  these  people." 

"You  must  do  something,"  said  the  presi- 
dent, sternly. 

"Must,"  echoed  Duncan.  "You  must  not 
talk  that  way.  I  am  John  Duncan,  the  man 
who  made  you.  I  have  no  master." 

255 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"Duncan,  you  go  too  far,"  said  the  presi- 
dent angrily.  "I  am  a  patient  man  and  have 
learned  to  curb  my  temper,  but  even  you  must 
not  tempt  me  to  extremes.  No  man  in  all 
this  land  has  asked  more  favors  since  I've 
held  this  office  than  have  you,  and  I've  re- 
fused you  nothing.  The  aid  you  gave  me  in 
my  rise  has  been  repaid  a  hundredfold  by 
what  I've  done  for  you.  Your  grasping  greed 
has  raised  this  storm  and,  by  the  gods,  you 
must  allay  it,  or  I'll  know  the  reason  why! 
/  still  am  president" 

"Don't  get  excited,"  said  Duncan,  "I  have 
not  caused  this  row." 

"You  went  too  far.  You  should  have 
placed  a  limit  to  your  grasping,"  said  the 
president. 

"I  am  surprised  that  you  should  show  such 
weakness,"  said  Duncan. 

"I  am  a  politician,"  was  the  president's  an- 
swer, "and  to  hold  my  seat  I  must,  like  a 
barometer,  be  sensible  to  pressure.  Shall  I 
sleep  like  a  full-fed  ass  when  all  the  air  about 
me  is  in  a  tremble  and  the  earth  unsteady 
under  me?" 

"The  cases  which  have  caused  so  much 
complaint  are  pending  on  appeal  and  when 

256 


A  Strange   Flaw 

decided  will  end  the  strife.  Judgment  will 
be  given  in  our  favor,  and  then  the  people 
will  settle  down,"  said  Duncan. 

"I  don't  think  so,"  responded  the  presi- 
dent. "All  men  and  women,  husbands,  wives 
and  widows,  torn  from  their  homes  to  swell 
your  fortune,  made  eloquent  by  anguish,  will 
run  far  and  wide  and  with  a  voice  like  Ga- 
briel's call  heaven's  judgment  on  us." 

"Nonsense!"  ejaculated  Duncan. 

"You  have  a  young  man  there  in  prison, 
awaiting  execution,"  continued  the  president. 
"This  acts  as  fuel  to  the  raging  flames." 

"That  was  a  grave  mistake,"  interposed 
Bragg.  "I  told  you  so,  Duncan,  and  begged 
you  to  intercede  in  his  behalf." 

"When  he  is  executed  you'll  hear  no  more 
of  him,"  said  Duncan. 

"You  may  be  wise  in  making  money," 
said  the  president  to  Duncan,  "but  in  politics 
you  have  less  sense,  John  Duncan,  than  any 
man  I  ever  knew,  if  such  is  your  opinion. 
This  young  man  is  a  hero  in  their  eyes  and 
his  death  will  turn  his  words  to  holy  writ, 
his  grave  will  be  a  shrine,  the  day  he  died 
be  kept  a  sacred  day,  and  his  martyrdom  in 
song  and  story  will  be  the  theme  through  all 

257 


A  Strange  Flaw 

the  coming  years,  and  give  our  enemies  great 
strength  to  draw  the  masses  to  their  cause. 
Nor  will  it  end  when  we  have  passed  away. 
Long  after  we  are  dead  his  death  will  be  re- 
membered, and  its  memory  survive  when  all 
our  other  acts  are  lost,  and  load  our  names 
with  infamy  and  make  our  sons  ashamed  to 
own  their  lineage." 

"What,  then,  do  you  propose?"  asked 
Duncan. 

"I've  ordered  him  brought  here  to-day,  and 
to  reach  the  core  of  all  this  trouble,  I've  also 
asked  his  friends  to  come,  including  Foghorn. 
I'll  see  what  I  can  do  to  stem  this  conflagra- 
tion. If  I  have  proper  knowledge  of  the 
facts  these  folks  have  cause  to  be  aggrieved. 
Their  lands  were  granted  to  them  by  this 
government;  the  patent  which  we  give  the 
humblest  settler  should  be  as  sacred  as  the 
charter  of  your  road  or  else  our  constitution 
is  a  lie,"  said  the  president. 

"The  nation  granted  lands  it  did  not  own," 
interposed  Duncan. 

"Then  it  must  make  the  title  good  or  com- 
pensate the  people  for  their  loss,"  retorted 
the  president. 

258 


A  Strange   Flaw 

"When  did  you  get  so  honest,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent?" inquired  Duncan. 

"I  make  no  claim  in  that  respect,"  he  an- 
swered. "I  may  have  winked  at  many  things 
that  should  be  questioned.  In  politics  we 
must  not  be  too  nice.  I've  kept  a  rubber 
conscience  and  have  allowed  such  men  as  you 
to  thrive  by  over-reaching.  But  this  high 
act  of  hateful  spoliation  reaches  its  roots  too 
far  and  strikes  too  deep  to  go  uncropped." 

"The  Supreme  Court  took  the  case  six 
months  ago,"  said  Duncan. 

"Why  have  they  not  decided  it?"  demand- 
ed the  president.  "If  I  have  any  power  to 
make  that  court  decide,  if  begging,  prayers 
or  tears  will  stir  it,  its  wheels  shall  start  to- 
day. Excuse  me  for  a  moment."  The 
president  then  left  the  room  intent  upon  im- 
mediately communicating  in  some  way  with 
the  members  of  the  Supreme  Court.  While 
he  was  gone,  Duncan  said  to  Bragg: 

"The  president  is  in  earnest  and  we  had 
better  sell  immediately;  I  will  notify  the  Trust 
that  their  offer  is  accepted  and  you  shall  get 
your  share  to-day." 

"Do  it  quickly,"  said  Bragg.  "I  will  ask 
the  president  to  excuse  you  when  he  returns." 

259 


A   Strange   Flaw 

Duncan  then  went  to  the  nearest  telegraph 
office  and  closed  the  sale.  While  he  was  gone 
Bragg  thus  soliloquized: 

"Since  first  I  started  with  this  scheme  I've 
known  no  peace.  What  have  my  riches  been 
to  me  ?  When  but  a  beggar,  weary  and  worn, 
I  have  laid  down  by  the  wayside  hedge  and 
sunk  in  sweet  and  dreamless  sleep ;  I've  looked 
up  at  the  azure  vault  of  heaven  and  felt  the 
promptings  of  a  love  Divine.  The  green 
sward  once  my  downy  bed  no  longer  shows 
such  verdure.  The  silver  moon  that  looked 
so  clear  and  bright  now  seems  begrimed  with 
filth.  The  tints  of  dawn  and  sunset  now  have 
lost  their  beauty  and  all  the  air  about  me  is 
filled  with  flying  missiles.  There  is  no  peace 
for  him  who  plots  distress.  Wealth  won 
through  woe  of  others  is  but  dross,  yea  worse, 
it  poisons  and  corrodes  the  dearest,  purest 
joys  of  life." 

When  the  president  had  returned,  he  said: 

"The  opinion  is  prepared.  The  court  will 
file  it  in  an  hour.  Where's  Duncan?" 

"He  had  an  appointment,  and  begs  that 
you'll  excuse  him,"  said  Bragg.  "This  is 
his  busy  day.  Whichever  way  it  is  decided, 

260 


A   Strange   Flaw 

suspense  will  then  be  broken.  The  whole  case 
turned  upon  a  dot  down  in  the  court  below." 

"A  small  foundation  for  so  great  a  claim," 
observed  the  president. 

"Tis  often  thus  in  law,"  said  Bragg.  "So 
blind  is  legal  justice  that  the  largest  matters 
may  hang  upon  the  smallest  hair;  the  slender 
filament  of  a  spider's  web  may  bind  great 
empires,  and  a  net  of  gossamer  hold  captive 
the  great  world." 

At  this  point  a  servant  entered  the  room 
and  announced  that  a  motley  crowd  had  come 
Who  looked  like  gypsies  of  the  road  and  said 
that  they  had  come  from  Littletown  and  had 
been  sent  for. 

"Then  I  will  go,"  said  Bragg. 

"Stay,  you  may  know  them,"  said  the 
president. 

"Alas,  too  well.  If  any  plea  of  mine  can 
give  weight  to  their  prayers  I  will  gladly  add 
it,"  said  Bragg. 

"Show  them  in,"  said  the  president  to  the 
servant. 

The  servant  then  withdrew  and  very  soon 
ushered  in  Enoch  Foghorn,  George  Washing- 
ton Lyer,  Elder  Goodman,  Oliver  Cromwell 
Jinks  and  Mrs.  Hawkins,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jinks 

261 


A   Strange   Flaw 

and  Jennie  Jinks.  They  were  the  shabbiest 
looking  delegation  that  ever  visited  the  presi- 
dent by  invitation. 

The  president  had  paid  the  expenses  of 
bringing  these  poor  people  from  the  West, 
not  because  he  loved  them  or  wished  to  ben- 
efit them,  but  because  they  had  made  it  nec- 
essary to  his  own  interest  that  he  should  do 
so. 

"You've  sent  for  us,"  said  Foghorn  sternly. 

"Are  you  Enoch  Foghorn?"  asked  the 
president. 

"I  am.     What  do  you  want?" 

"What  have  I  done  that  you  should  wage 
such  a  bitter  war  against  me?"  asked  the 
president. 

"Nothing,"  said  Foghorn. 

"Why,  then,  oppose  me?" 

"Because  you  have  done  nothing,"  was  the 
reply. 

"Why  should  your  people's  wrongs  be 
charged  to  me?  I'm  not  responsible,"  said 
the  president. 

"You  are,"  said  Foghorn;  "and  so  is  every 
person  in  all  the  land,  each  in  proportion  to 
the  power  he  has,  and  you  the  most  of  all." 

262 


A  Strange  Flaw 

"But  recently  I  learned  the  cause  of  your 
complaint,"  said  the  president. 

"Such  ignorance  is  a  crime  in  your  posi- 
tion," was  the  unflinching  reply  of  Foghorn. 
"The  lofty  trust  in  you  reposed  should  make 
you  quick  to  learn  and  swift  to  punish  crimes 
against  the  people.  When  robbers,  unop- 
posed, employ  the  government  to  rob  and 
plunder,  and  you  in  stupid  ignorance  sit  idly 
by  and  thus  let  them  succeed,  you  show  un- 
fitness  for  your  office.  If  those  who  hold  the 
highest  seats  shall  be  as  deaf  and  blind  as 
you  have  been,  who  will  protect  the  common 
weal  and  keep  our  nation  free  from  scound- 
rels? But  that's  not  all;  since  you  have 
learned  the  facts  you  have  not  moved." 

"I  have,"  persisted  the  president.  "And 
that  is  why  I  called  you  here,  that  I  might 
know  what  you  wish  me  to  do.  I  would  not 
be  unworthy  of  this  chair,  that  Lincoln  once 
adorned  and  Washington  first  sat  in." 

"There,"  said  Foghorn,  pointing  to  Bragg, 
"sits  our  grievance.  Hell  has  not  in  its  dark- 
est depths  a  blacker  fiend." 

"Foghorn,  you  wrong  me,"  reproachfully 
said  Bragg.  "I  have  committed  no  crime." 

263 


A   Strange   Flaw 

"Bragg,  you  make  a  common  liar  seem  a 
saint,"  interrupted  George  Washington  Lyer. 

"Does  God  still  reign?"  asked  the  Rev. 
Goodman.  "Was  Ananias  killed  for  lying 
and  can  this  Bragg  still  live  ?  He  is  the  quint- 
essence of  the  spirit  of  total  depravity  made 
manifest  in  the  flesh." 

"The  meanest  skunk  on  earth,"  agreed 
Mrs.  Jinks. 

"What  have  I  done?"  asked  Bragg. 

"Did  you  not  and  your  pal  seduce  the 
legislature  to  grant  your  corporation  the  lands 
where  we  had  built  our  homes  and  by  the 
grant  so  stolen  through  the  State,  did  you  not 
put  us  out  of  doors?"  demanded  Lyer. 

"All  this  was  strictly  legal.  We  did  no 
more  than  any  man  would  do.  The  courts 
so  far  have  held  with  us,"  said  Bragg. 

"Is  that  the  only  charge  you  make  against 
him?"  asked  the  president. 

"He  had  us  build  the  road-bed  and  take 
our  pay  in  stock,  then  mortgaged  it,  fore- 
closed the  mortgage  and  thus  made  the  stock 
as  worthless  as  his  promises,"  continued  Lyer. 

"That  is  a  common  practice,"  said  the 
president.  "Most  of  the  roads  that  web  the 
land  were  built  by  that  device.  Bragg  has 

264 


A   Strange   Flaw 

only  done  what  rich  men  often  do,  puffed  up 
his  wares,  got  all  the  aid  he  could,  and  used 
the  courts  to  pass  upon  his  claims." 

"Custom  is  no  excuse  for  crime,"  inter- 
posed Foghorn.  "Laws  may  be  just,  and  yet 
be  used  to  cloak  the  purposes  of  theft.  'Tis 
bad  enough  to  violate  a  law,  to  use  it  as  a 
means  to  rob  is  worse." 

"The  case  is  in  the  courts,"  said  Bragg. 
"What  they  decide  all  must  concede  is  right." 

"Here  are  my  witnesses,"  said  Foghorn, 
pointing  to  those  with  him.  "These  are  but 
samples  of  the  destitute,  scattered  in  thou- 
sands over  the  broad  domains  that  he  claims 
for  his  own.  Happy  and  prosperous  before 
he  came,  they  now  are  homeless,  and  all  their 
hopes  depend  on  two  small  letters  and  these 
on  a  dot  so  small  it  scarcely  stains  the  paper 
of  the  grant  through  which  this  Bragg  and 
his  vile  partners  claim  their  titles.  Now  if 
perchance  the  court  above  affirm  the  lower 
court,  then  these  poor  people  lose  their  all. 
The  fruits  a  life  of  toil  had  garnered  are 
given  to  these  knaves.  Can  this  be  justice, 
because  the  courts  so  hold?  There  is  a  judg- 
ment higher  far  than  human  courts  which 
kings  and  presidents  may  not  despise.  'Tis 

265 


A  Strange  Flaw 

resident  in  the  souls  of  honest  men,  the  mighty 
masses  that  compose  mankind.  The  courts' 
decrees  may  violate  this  judgment  and  be  en- 
forced, the  wrongs  committed  go  unpunished 
for  a  while,  but,  sir,  there  comes  a  time  when 
patience  is  exhausted,  then  like  the  mighty  sea 
lashed  into  fury  by  the  raging  tempest,  the 
people  will  rise,  and  all  their  pent  up  wrath 
will  then  break  forth  and  in  the  terror  of 
the  times  their  proud  oppressors  will  be  but 
bubbles,  swift  hurled  to  their  destruction." 

"I  think,"  said  the  president,  "that  you 
have  great  reason  to  complain,  and  you  shall 
have  redress,  if  I  can  get  it." 

"I  have  my  grievance,  too,"  said  Bragg. 
"A  homeless  wanderer,  shivering  with  cold, 
I  tramped  through  all  this  land  and  begged 
for  work  and  food.  Their  barns  were  burst- 
ing with  profusion,  yet  these  people  cursed 
and  drove  me  from  their  doors,  beat  me  and 
jailed  me,  called  me  a  vagabond  unfit  to  live, 
till  I  was  driven  here  and  in  the  sight  of 
your  most  gorgeous  feast,  torn  with  pangs 
of  hunger,  saw  my  only  daughter  starve  to 
death.  'Twas  then  I  met  John  Duncan,  and 
his  welcome  words  and  promised  aid  made 
me  to  vow  dire  vengeance  against  the  world. 

266 


A  Strange   Flaw 

Now  I  have  had  it  to  the  full.  Tis  not  so 
sweet  as  bitter.  I  sympathize  with  these  af- 
flicted folk,  and  most  of  all  with  that  poor 
boy  now  waiting  death  for  treason.  Do  for 
them  all  you  can  and  I'll  be  pleased." 

While  they  were  thus  talking  it  was  an- 
nounced that  an  officer  had  come  with 
Harry  Hawkins.  The  president  ordered  him 
brought  in.  Harry  was  indeed  a  wretched 
sight,  worn  thin  with  grief  and  worry,  pale 
as  a  ghost,  yet  still  he  stood  erect  and  proudly 
answered  the  questions  asked  him. 

At  her  first  glance  his  mother  exclaimed: 
"My  boy!  My  boy!"  and  began  to  weep. 

"Mother,  be  calm  and  brave,"  he  said. 

"'Tis  said  you've  asked  for  pardon,"  stated 
the  president. 

"The  tale  is  false,"  said  Harry.  "I  only 
wish  to  die." 

"Oh  God,  my  son!"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Hawkins.  "Do  you  not  love  your  mother? 
Oh,  how  I've  wept  and  prayed  for  your  re- 
turn. For  my  sake,  Harry,  don't  be  so  stub- 
born." 

Jennie  Jinks  then  interposed: 

"Harry,  since  last  we  met  no  time  has 
passed  when  you  were  absent  from  my 

267 


A  Strange   Flaw 

thoughts.  I've  taken  the  road  and  told  your 
wrongs  to  thousands,  and  people  everywhere 
are  urging  your  release.  By  night  and  day 
my  toils  and  prayers  are  consecrated  to  this 
one  great  end." 

Then  turning  to  the  president,  she  said: 

"Most  honored  president,  if  there  be  power 
in  maiden's  tears  to  move  your  mercy,  pity 
me  and  free  him." 

"We  ask  his  pardon,  too,"  said  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jinks. 

"God's  minister  in  His  holy  name  craves 
pardon  for  this  pious  son,"  said  the  Rev. 
Goodman. 

"Mr.  President,  pardon  him,  it  will  make 
you  lots  of  votes,"  said  G.  W.  Lyer. 

During  all  this  time  Foghorn  stood  silent- 
ly by,  and  finally  the  president,  turning  to 
him,  asked: 

"Do  you  join  in  this  plea  for  pardon,  Mr. 
Foghorn?" 

"I  do  not,"  said  Foghorn.  "I  cannot  say 
that  in  the  sight  of  heaven  the  prisoner  has 
done  wrong,  and  he  may  well  refuse  to  ask 
your  pardon.  All  that  he  did  he  did  with 
good  intent.  The  government  you  represent 
should  ask  its  people's  pardon  for  the  crimes 

268 


A  Strange   Flaw 

committed  in  its  name,  and  you,  its  president, 
have  not  been  free  from  fault.  You  should 
ask  his  pardon,  not  he  yours." 

"Your  words  are  bold,"  said  the  president. 
"What  say  you,  Hawkins?  Do  you  ask  par- 
don?" 

"Never,"  said  Harry.  "I  stand  where  I 
have  always  stood,  firm  set  against  injustice, 
and  while  life  blood  surges  in  my  veins,  I  will 
not  kunckle  to  the  wrong.  The  perpetrators 
of  this  monstrous  crime  may  rob  me  of  my 
life,  but  not  my  honor." 

The  president  had  never  before  in  all  his 
career  received  such  treatment  from  a  pris- 
oner or  his  friends.  At  first  he  felt  he  could 
not  offer  a  pardon  to  one  who  would  not  ask 
it,  but  the  death  of  this  young  man  would 
mean  his  political  ruin,  so  he  reluctantly  called 
in  his  secretary  and  had  a  pardon  prepared, 
signed  and  presented  it  to  Harry  Hawkins, 
who  was  forthwith  released. 

It  was  then  ascertained  and  announced  by 
the  secretary  that  the  Supreme  Court  had  filed 
its  opinion  and  had  decided  in  favor  of  the 
settlers. 

The  joy  with  which  this  announcement  was 
received  cannot  be  described.  'Twas  like  the 

269 


A  Strange  Flaw 

dawn  of  a  millennium  to  these  poor  people. 
Even  the  president  involuntarily  shouted  with 
the  others.  They  clung  to  Foghorn  and  em- 
braced him  as  a  savior  and  somehow  in  the 
ecstasy  of  joy,  Miss  Jinks  had  found  her 
lover,  and  Bragg  was  not  the  man. 

When  the  excitement  had  somewhat  sub- 
sided, Bragg  asked  the  secretary  if  he  had 
learned  the  ground  of  the  decision. 

"Yes,"  he  responded.  "The  court  found 
the  dot  was  an  'excrementum  fliege.'  " 

"What  in  hell  is  that?"  asked  Lyer. 

"A  fly  speck!"  was  the  answer. 

Bragg  laughed  and  said: 

"I'm  glad  you've  won.  Return  and  oc- 
cupy your  homes.  Ride  on  the  railroad  that 
your  hands  have  built.  May  all  your  future 
lives  be  full  of  joy,  but  this  remember :  There 
is  no  insect,  bird,  or  beast  that  will  not  some- 
times fight  to  save  itself.  Man  may  be  poor 
and  weak,  patient,  and  suffer  long  and  stand 
oppression  meekly,  but  every  creature  has  its 
limit.  That  passed,  the  weakest  then  will  turn 
and  smite.  If,  when  with  plenty  you're  sup- 
plied and  some  poor,  hungry,  ragged,  home- 
less tramp  comes  to  your  door  and  begs  for 
food  and  work,  be  kind — remember  Bragg." 

270 


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